HOUSTON - On Tuesday the First Court of Appeals reversed a ruling denying the city of Houston immunity from a lawsuit filed over a police officer’s automobile collision.
The lawsuit was brought by Kia Edwards, who alleges that she was injured when a Houston police car collided first with a Houston fire engine and then with her vehicle.
According to the First Court’s opinion, a HPD officer responded to a request for assistance by activating lights and sirens in his marked police car. As he entered an intersection, a fire engine made contact with his police car, which then collided with Edward’s vehicle.
Court records show the city filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting immunity, which was denied by the trial court, leading the city to appeal the ruling.
On appeal, the city argued that the trial court erred by denying the motion for summary judgment because Edwards’s claims are barred by the emergency exception to the limited waiver of immunity in the Texas Tort Claims Act and by the doctrine of official immunity.
The First Court reversed the trial court’s order, and rendered judgment dismissing Edwards’s claims against the city.
“We conclude that this evidence demonstrates that (the officer) acted in good faith because a reasonably prudent law enforcement officer could have believed that the need to immediately arrive and back up another officer in this situation outweighed the clear risk of harm to the public in operating a patrol vehicle in an emergency response,” the opinion states.
“We hold that Edwards failed to carry her summary-judgment burden to create a genuine question of material fact on the element of good faith. We, therefore, further hold that (the officer) is entitled to official immunity.”
Appeals case No. 01-22-00709-CV