Kristie's Law

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Kristie's Law is a proposed California law that would restrict immunity for damage (including injuries or deaths) caused by high-speed pursuits, where law enforcement agencies have established, but not followed, written pursuit policies.

[edit] Background

The law is named after Kristie Priano, a high school sophomore and innocent third party who was killed during a police chase in Chico.

According to a 1987 state law, California Vehicle Code 17004.7, law enforcement agencies that adopt a written pursuit policy, even if that policy is not followed, have complete immunity against lawsuits brought by injured third-parties.

According to activist organization www.kristieslaw.org, 2,114 "blameless victims" and 87 police officers have been killed in the United States from 1982 to 2005 as a result of police pursuit. The site also claims that these figures are under-reported for a several reasons, including that reporting is not mandatory.

California’s Fourth Appellate Court expressed concern over this law in its 2002 opinion in Nguyen v. City of Westminster, stating "it is also sad that one blameless person was seriously injured as a result of the pursuit, and that his family has no option for redress. We urge the Legislature to revisit this statute. . . . The adoption of a policy which may never be implemented is cold comfort to innocent bystanders. . . . The balance appears to have shifted too far toward public entity immunity and left public safety, as well as compensation for innocent victims, twisting in the wind.”^[1]

California State Senator Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, first introduced Kristie’s Law in February 2003.^[2] The Associated Press,^[3] The Christian Science Monitor,^[4] and other media nationwide^[5]^[6] covered this proposed pursuit law when it was re-introduced in 2004 and 2005 and today.

In 2005, the Peace Officers Research Association of California introduced a counter-proposal to Kristie's Law. This measure, Senate Bill 719,^[7] met no opposition from the state legislature and was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on October 4, 2005. This measure keeps intact the 1987 state law that provides complete immunity to law enforcement agencies that adopt a written pursuit, without requiring that the policy be followed. "What SB 719 proposes is to slightly change the list of elements of pursuit policy -- while making no quantitative requirements," wrote the late Jim Phillips, founder of PursuitWatch.org.^[8]

Candy Priano, Kristie Priano's mother, is an active lobbyist campaigning for stricter limits on high-speed police pursuits.^[9]