HARTFORD — A lawsuit brought by the mother of an Oxford teen who died in a police chase led to a debate in the state Supreme Court Monday about when police should and shouldn’t pursue suspects.
The boy, 15-year-old Brandon Giordano, was riding in the back seat of his friend’s Ford Mustang when it crashed in Oxford March 9, 2012, after a chase that began in Seymour when Police Officer Anthony Renaldi saw Ramirez’s illegal “ground effects” lights.
Mother Angela Borelli’s lawsuit initially sought $15 million in damages when she filed the lawsuit, which claimed Renaldi shouldn’t have chased Ramirez’s car.
Derby Superior Court Judge Theodore Tyma threw the case out of court in September 2017, agreeing with the town that Renaldi was acting with discretion during the chase, and thus “clothed in discretionary act immunity” which protects the town.
Lawyers representing Borelli and the town argued before the Supreme Court Monday over the meaning of a state law concerning police chases, and what amount of discretion cops should have in deciding when — and when not to — engage in a pursuit.
Borelli’s lawyer, Steven J. Errante, said it should be up to a jury to decide whether the Renaldi acted appropriately based on expert testimony — and that he has lined up a former state trooper to testify Renaldi should not have chased Ramirez’s car for a traffic infraction.
“We’re going down that road of...
from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Should-cops-chase-people-for-traffic-violations-13805156.php
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