Immunity and impunity of authorities in accidents caused by persecution

“Nothing has changed since 2002; they have an open letter of immunity,” said Mark Priano, father of Christina “Christy” Marie Elena Priano, a 15-year-old girl who died in January 2002 when the family minivan was hit by the SUV of another teenager, Jennifer. Corron being chased at high speed by police in Chico, California.

With the help of former state senator Sam Anestad (R-Grass Valley), Mark Priano and his wife Candy attempted to establish minimum rules and procedures for California police prosecutions based on the Christie Act or SB 1866.

The Prianos unsuccessfully attempted to force state law enforcement agencies to accept and implement these minimum guidelines as a condition of obtaining immunity from liability for injury or death to innocent third parties as a result of a suspect’s escape from the police. Three times the bill was presented and rejected the same number of times.

“We wanted the law to be stricter, but they didn’t fix anything,” said Mark Priano, now a board member of PursuitSAFETY, a national organization that only supports the prosecution of violent criminals when the need to detain a suspect is so great. , which overcomes the inherent danger of harassment of innocent people, the police themselves, and when there is no other way to apprehend suspects.

Replacing Christy Lowe

The legislative measure that competed with the Christie Act was SB 719, signed into law by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The said law, sponsored by the California Association of Law Enforcers (PORAC), grants immunity to police officers involved in fatal harassment or injury.

“This bill will reduce the immunity enjoyed by state structures employing law enforcement officers (police departments and emergency departments) when a third person is injured or killed in a collision with a person fleeing the world,” the text of the bill states.

Such law enforcement agencies will only be protected if they adopt and promulgate a safe driving policy when pursuing motor vehicles and provide regular and periodic safe pursuit training to their officers.

“They wanted to call it the Christie law, but we refused and withdrew our bill,” Mark Priano criticized.

“Thanks to the law that Schwarzenegger signed, the police received an immunity shield, an open letter on immunity,” he added. “But our goal was to protect both officers and citizens, who remain innocent victims.”

double persecution

The SB 719 from Gloria Romero and Elaine Ahlquist is supposed to be designed to reduce the rate of police pursuits.

Indeed, since it went into effect in July 2007, out of nearly 7,500 prosecutions in California, the numbers have dropped to 5,000 in 2010.

However, police harassment intensified in subsequent years: 8,554 in 2016; 9,342 people in 2017; 9,128 in 2018; 8,822 people in 2019 and 11,650 people in 2020, with 128 people killed and 6,517 injured in those five years alone.

After the adoption of this law, police harassment and deaths from them decreased, but after a few years they began to increase again.

Vehicle code that protects agents

“Definitely, all police officers need more training in harassment,” said Lucas Aragon, a member of PursuitSAFETY.

His sister Kimberly Aragon Nunez died in April 2020 when she was hit by a bank robber escaping car in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Lucas, who now lives in Santa Fe Springs, California, said it was “terrible” that the officers involved in the pursuit were not punished for directly or indirectly injuring and killing innocent people.

“The fact is, ever since the O.J. Simpson manhunt was televised, these events have become a form of entertainment” in Los Angeles and throughout California. “It’s better that they constantly review their guidelines, rules and the types of training they receive.”

In most states, officials or departments are held accountable—at least to some extent—when someone sues after a chase.

However, California still has some of the most far-reaching protections for law enforcement officers whose harassment kills or injures someone.

Indeed, Section 17004.7 of the California Automobile Code provides that, when pursued by law enforcement officials, the immunity granted is in addition to any other statutory immunity.

Policy of discretion to start or not to start prosecution:

“An agency employing law enforcement officers that adopts and promulgates a written policy and conducts regular and periodic training on an annual basis” for dealing with vehicles that comply with certain protocols is exempt from liability for civil damages resulting from bodily injury or death of any person or property damage resulting from a collision with a vehicle driven by an actual or suspected offender [fugitivo] law” that is subjected to or pursued by the police.

we need a new policy

“Until now, there has not been a single legislator who has dared to write a bill that would completely abolish the immunity of police officers and protect citizens from this reckless persecution,” said African-American political and social activist Naji Ali.

“They can leave and continue to persecute and wantonly kill because we don’t have a law to protect us.”

Ali said that the laws on the streets of California “do not value the lives of innocent Hispanics and African Americans in the same way that they value the lives of white people.”

The activist emphasized that one only needs to look at the fact that 90% of the dying come from these communities.

“The problem is not with the head of the LAPD (Michelle Moore), but with his officers who are not interested in the safety of the public, and therefore we need a policy that holds them accountable when they commit offenses.”

“A Job You’ll Never Win”

Security for everyone should be resolved in seconds, said an LAPD trooper who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to make press statements.

“What is being pursued first and foremost as a priority is the safety of the population,” the agent said. “It’s not worth chasing a stolen car and endangering the public for me.”

He added that “there are cases” where drug addicts not only steal a car, but also steal a car without knowing if there are people inside.

“We saw him in Long Beach, where a suspect with a federal warrant for gun violations was leading a dangerous chase, driving in the wrong direction, and there was a child in the car,” La Opinión’s agent explained. .

Indeed, after this chase, in which nine cars collided, on the night of Tuesday, March 28, an innocent Canadian died and nine people were injured. The chase began in Seal Beach after a traffic violation and ended in Long Beach.

According to the Seal Beach Police Department, the chase began when a couple in a silver Lexus sedan near the intersection of 5th Street and Marina Drive came to a stop.

During the stop, the male passenger defected to the side of the woman driving and fled with the child inside the car to his death.

“For me, being a police officer is a win-win job with people,” the officer said. “If you seize those who want to run and fight one, if the suspect is wounded or killed, it is your fault; but if you don’t catch him, they say the police are useless.”

data for 2020

Using 2020 data entered into the Chase Reporting System, as of May 7, 2021, 11,650 police chases have been reported to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) during 2020.

Statewide, the majority of violations initiated prior to the harassment included speeding, vehicle theft, license plate violations, and disobedience to traffic control devices at an intersection.

While many manhunts were launched during traffic stops for violations, many of the suspects caught were charged with felonies and misdemeanors.

In addition to arrest evasion, the top six crimes recorded as the most serious crimes charged at the time of arrest included: carjacking, drunk driving, driver’s license suspension/no driver’s license, resisting arrest, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony with storage. firearms.

In approximately 43% of all stalking arrests in 2020, the most serious charges came from this group of six offenses, and most actions ended quickly, with 73% ending within the first five minutes and first five miles.

The most common reason for a chase to be abandoned was that the police abandoned the chase due to public safety, which occurred in 28% of all chases.

Statewide events increased to 11,650 in 2020, up 32% from 2019.

Persecution That Kills, a three-part series that examines the deadly consequences of persecution and the impunity of the authorities. Today, “Police Impunity” is the latest in the series.

Part 1: Police chase that kills, runs over and affects innocent people.

Part 2: He was driving to a concert and ended up in the hospital in a vegetative state.

Author: Jorge Luis Macias / Special for La Opinión
Source: La Opinion

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