Mother Seeks Recourse for Crash Victims ; State House: A Bill Would Lift Police Immunity From Lawsuits Claiming Negligence in Crashes.

Summary

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A 1998 accident in which a Cumberland County sheriff's cruiser plowed into a turning car, killing two teenagers, has triggered a drive in the Legislature to make it possible to sue police officers. The Judiciary Committee took up a bill on Wednesday to scale back the immunity that police officers and some other government workers have in civil cases. The bill would make them subject to lawsuits "for the negligent operation of a motor vehicle directly involved in a collision."

Supporters argued that the bill would give future victims their day in court, by letting them sue negligent officers who endanger the public. Opponents said the bill could have a chilling effect on law enforcement, causing officers to leave the profession or to respond to emergencies too cautiously.

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Mother Seeks Recourse for Crash Victims ; State House: A Bill Would Lift Police Immunity From Lawsuits Claiming Negligence in Crashes.

The bill stems from a Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling in 2003 that Deborah Hall, then a sheriff's deputy, was immune from a wrongful-death lawsuit in connection with a crash in which her cruiser struck a car carrying Matth...

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