The parents of a man who died when the stolen car he was riding in crashed during a police pursuit are suing Pontoon Beach and the officers involved.
Edwardsville attorney Ryan Sweet filed the lawsuit on behalf of Patsy and Dennis Hagopian, individually and as co-administrators of the estate of Brandon Hagopian, on Jan. 14 in the Madison County Circuit Court. The suit was filed against Village of Pontoon Beach and officers Todd Irvin and William Tracy.
According to the complaint, Brandon Hagopian was the front seat passenger of a silver Mercury Grand Marquis on May 30, 2021, shortly after midnight. The suit states that the vehicle had unknown registration and was being driven by an unidentified white male. However, news reports and court documents from the incident state that John Shea was the driver and was fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle. The suit does not mention Shea and does not assert any liability against him.
Sweet argues in the lawsuit that Collinsville police officer Josh Fields observed the vehicle entering a parking lot of the Circle K Gas Station on Vandalia Street. The rear license plate was not illuminated, so Fields activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop due to the equipment violation.
The complaint states that the driver did not respond to Fields' attempt and instead continued northbound on Vandalia Street, taking the Interstate 55/70 southbound exit ramp. Fields terminated the attempted traffic stop and allegedly put out a request for an ISPERN broadcast. He allegedly turned around and returned to Collinsville.
At 12:12 a.m., Irvin received the ISPERN broadcast that the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed on Interstate 55 southbound passing under Interstate 255.
Sweet wrote that Irvin advised Tracy to respond to Highway 111 towards Interstate 55/70 in case the driver traveled northbound on Highway 111. Tracy was allegedly advised to sit at the entrance to Horseshoe Lake State Park with Stop Sticks and to deploy them if the driver fled.
“Pursuit intervention is an attempt to terminate the ability of a suspect to continue to flee in a motor vehicle through tactical application of technology, road spikes, blocking, boxing, PIT (Police Immobilization Technique), ramming, heading off, or roadblock procedures,” the suit states.
“Spikes or tack strips are a device that extends across the roadway designed to puncture the tires of the pursued vehicle,” it continues.
Irvin allegedly went to the area of Highway 111 at Sand Prairie Lane in Pontoon Beach, where he observed the vehicle traveling northbound towards his location. He activated his red and blue lights in an attempt to initiate a traffic stop.
The driver sped up and started to flee northbound on Highway 111, which is a two-lane road with a posted speed limit of 50 miles per hour near the entrance of Horseshoe Lake State Park. The vehicle allegedly reached a speed of 99 miles per hour and eventually ran over the Stop Sticks deployed by Tracy. The vehicle allegedly struck a tree, ejecting Hagopian.
Hagopian was transported to Saint Louis University Hospital and was pronounced dead at 1:16 a.m. due to blunt force trauma to his head, torso and extremities, the suit states.
Sweet argues that law enforcement officers are not under legal obligation to pursue a fleeing vehicle.
He claims the defendants improperly initiated the pursuit from another jurisdiction “for a petty offense,” which he says “exposed Brandon Hagopian to a risk of serious injury or death.”
He also claims the circumstance was not serious enough to continue the pursuit and that the officers had no regard for the safety of the occupants in the fleeing vehicle.
Sweet argues that the officers failed to discontinue the pursuit, improperly used a forcible stop technique at high speeds and improperly used a disproportionate amount of force, “thereby exposing Brandon Hagopian to a risk of serious injury or death.”
Sweet also argues that the defendants are the ones who placed Hagopian in “circumstances that endangered his life or health.”
“Such conduct demonstrates a failure, after knowledge of impending danger, to exercise ordinary care to prevent the danger,” Sweet wrote.
Patsy and Dennis Hagopian seek a judgment in excess of $50,000 for each count, plus pre and post-judgment interest, and all other relief the court deems just.
According to court documents, Shea was later charged with reckless homicide, offenses relating to motor vehicles and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer on Sept. 17.
In addition to the charges relating to the May 30 incident, Shea's criminal history shows he has been charged with offenses ranging from theft, possession of meth, possession of a stolen vehicle and fleeing police.
Specifically, last year Shea was charged with fleeing a police officer in February 2021, being in possession of a stolen vehicle and attempting to elude an officer on April 9, 2021, again attempting to flee the police on April 12, 2021, being in possession of a stolen flatbed on August 19, 2021, being in possession of a stolen vehicle on Aug. 24, 2021, and being in possession of a stolen vehicle on Aug. 26, 2021.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 22-LA-57