Death Suit Blames Gardena Police for Chasing Driver, 9

The family of a 36-year-old man killed in an automobile collision in January has filed a lawsuit blaming the accident not only on the 9-year-old driver of the other car, but also on the Gardena police officers who chased the boy at speeds up to 100 m.p.h.

Lawyers filed the wrongful-death suit this month in Torrance Superior Court on behalf of Robert Colvin, son of Bobby N. Colvin, who died when his car was broadsided Jan. 13 by the underage driver.

The 9-year-old boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, was placed on probation in July after admitting that he was guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Gardena police said they were called to the neighborhood near 154th Place and Harvard Boulevard in the early hours of Jan. 13, after the boy took his family’s Buick.

Clipped a House

The boy drove into several other cars and clipped a house before police came upon him and chased him north onto Normandie Avenue, where the cars reached 100 m.p.h., police said at the time.

The youth drove 3 miles before he ran a red light at Normandie and Imperial Highway and broadsided the 1976 Ford driven by Colvin.

Michael J. Piuze, a lawyer for the victim’s son, said the 9-year-old’s initial collisions were only misdemeanor violations and did not warrant a 100-m.p.h. police chase.

“At some point someone has to say, ‘Discontinue the chase,’ ” Piuze said. “There was more danger created than any gain from the chase. . . . This particular incident is an example of the tragic result of an unnecessary police pursuit.”

The lawsuit, which does not demand specific damages, alleges that Gardena police officers could see that the light had turned red as they neared the intersection.

“Despite this, (they) continued to pursue the Buick at speeds of approximately 100 m.p.h. for 20 seconds after they had observed that traffic light to be red,” the suit alleges. Police “chased the Buick through this intersection against a red light.”

Gardena City Atty. Michael Karger denied the allegations.

‘I Don’t Think the City Is Liable’

“I don’t think that the police officers acted improperly,” Karger said. “I don’t want to get into a point-by-point refutation of the allegations, but I don’t think the city is liable.”

Karger said a new state law gives the city immunity from liability, even if Colvin’s family can prove that officers were responsible for chasing the young driver into the intersection.

The law, which took effect less than two weeks before the crash, makes police departments immune to civil claims stemming from pursuit cases if the departments have policies that govern how they conduct chases.

“We had a pursuit policy in effect, and we were following it,” Karger said. “It’s a long written procedure by the Police Department to guide the officer in the field. It relates to coordinating vehicles so people aren’t running around willy-nilly.”

The policy also dictates that police should discontinue chases when they “pose unreasonable risks when balanced against the seriousness of the violation,” Karger said. “There is a balancing test that has to be made.”

Piuze said he will have to study the Gardena policy to see whether it meets the standards required by law.

The lawsuit also names as defendants the boy’sparents, Reid and Carol Wilson, saying they were negligent in not preventing him from taking the car.

The parents could not be reached for comment.