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Day v. Willis6/30/1995
Appeal from the Superior Court of the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Joan M. Katz, Judge.
The issue before the court is whether law enforcement officers owe a legal duty to fleeing offenders to refrain from pursuing them in order to protect the offenders from harm that may arise from the offenders' own actions during a high speed pursuit. We hold that they do not.
I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
In June 1985 Anchorage International Airport Security Officer James Willis was on a routine perimeter check of the airport. He drove past a park, noting several cars there in violation of the park curfew. Observing what appeared to be a liquor bottle on the roof of one of the cars, Willis entered the park to investigate. He called for the assistance of a back-up officer; Sergeant Robert W. Leger responded to the call. Upon the arrival of Leger, an individual later identified as James Day ran into adjacent woods. The remaining individuals were dispersed. The officers called dispatch for information on the single car left in the area. They learned that it belonged to Day, who was wanted by the Anchorage Police Department (APD) for a stop sign violation, and assault and battery. Unable to locate Day, the officers withdrew from the park to await the arrival of a canine unit from APD. They also considered the possibility that Day would voluntarily come out of the park. Shortly thereafter Day's car sped by. Leger pursued the car, reaching speeds of 70-75 miles per hour. After pursuing the car for some time, Leger claims that he decided to slow down because (1) he lost sight of the car, (2) the road was wet, and (3) he felt that further pursuit was not prudent. He also knew that APD was responding from the direction in which the car was headed. When Leger reached the top of a hill, he saw that the car had left the road and crashed. Day, who indeed was driving, died in this accident. An autopsy revealed that Day's blood alcohol level was .21% and his urine alcohol level .25%.
In May 1987 the Estate of Day (Estate) filed a wrongful death suit against the State, Leger and Willis. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of the State and the officers. It concluded that the Estate had failed to establish the existence of a duty which required the officers to take Day into protective custody and thereby prohibit him from using his car. This court affirmed the superior court's decision. Estate of Day v. Willis, Mem. Op. & J. No. 506 (Alaska, June 6, 1990) (Day I).
In July 1990 the Estate learned of an additional witness, Donald Maki, who claimed to have observed Leger's pursuit of Day. Maki's affidavit stated that Leger did not disengage his pursuit of Day prior to the accident, but instead closely followed Day's car until the accident. The Estate filed the complaint in the present case (Day II) alleging negligent and intentional spoliation of evidence against Leger and the State of Alaska (State). The spoliation was alleged to be the result of the State's failure in Day I to provide the name of Maki. The State moved for summary judgment, claiming, inter alia, that the Estate failed to show destruction of evidence and that Alaska does not recognize the tort of negligent spoliation. The superior court denied the primary motion, but asked for further briefing on the issues of causation and damages. The State argued that the Estate was unable to show causation, because the Estate was precluded from relitigating the issue of duty during a pursuit. The State claimed the question of duty had been argued in Day I and not appealed. The superior court rejected the collateral estoppel argument. It refused to speculate how the Estate's case may hav
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