The Village of Pontoon Beach and two of its officers deny liability in a wrongful death suit involving a police pursuit, arguing that the decedent failed to wear a seatbelt as the driver fleeing police acted in a “careless and imprudent manner.”
Attorney Peter Dunne of Pitzer Snodgrass PC in St. Louis answered the complaint on March 25 on behalf of the Village of Pontoon Beach and officers Todd Irvin and William Tracy.
According to their affirmative defenses, the defendants argue that they attempted to prevent driver “John Shea’s ongoing crimes of traveling at high rates of speed in a reckless manner through various jurisdictions” in order to protect the safety of the Pontoon Beach community.
The officers argue that they were “engaged in enforcing the laws of the State of Illinois and their actions in engaging lights, sirens, following the suspect fleeing vehicle, and placing stop sticks did not show an utter indifference to or conscious disregard, as to constitute willful and wanton conduct, for the safety of decedent and/or plaintiffs.”
They add that any alleged injuries were the result of Shea’s actions by fleeing from the police, speeding through several jurisdictions, driving in a “careless and imprudent manner” and swerving to avoid spike strips. They also claim the decedent Brandon Hagopian failed to wear a seatbelt, resulting in his death.
Edwardsville attorney Ryan Sweet of Swanson Sackett & Sweet PC replied to the defendants’ affirmative defenses on March 29 on behalf of plaintiffs Patsy and Dennis Hagopian.
Sweet wrote that the plaintiffs denied the allegations.
The defendants previously sought to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the Hagopians failed to support allegations that the defendants were the cause of Brandon Hagopian’s death, rather than Shea.
“The plaintiffs clearly seek to hold the defendant police officers liable for either refusing to allow a fleeing felon to get away, thereby potentially breaching their duty owed to the public and the general community of Pontoon Beach, or by failing to provide adequate police service for failing to prevent felon driver John Shea’s crimes and failing to adequately stop felon John Shea’s reckless driving, claims and causes of actions specifically barred by the Tort Immunity Act,” Dunne wrote.
In fact, the lawsuit fails to identify Shea by name and does not assert any liability against him.
“In so failing to name driver John Shea as a named defendant, the plaintiffs attempt to avoid the very facts they admit in their complaint,” Dunne wrote, “that Shea fled a traffic stop in Collinsville, drove away at a high rate of speed, that he was seen driving at a high rate of speed on Interstate 55 under Interstate 255, that he accelerated to over 99 miles per hour after Officer Irvin turned his overhead lights on to attempt to stop Shea, and that Shea’s reckless driving and driving at excessive and dangerous speeds were the direct and proximate cause of decedent’s death.”
“The control of preventing the collision here was always solely in Shea’s hands; all he had to do was obey the law and stop when requested to do so by various police agencies,” Dunne added. “Shea’s failure to obey the police and stop, and then to flee at speeds of at least 99 miles per hour, was an independent criminal and negligent act and constitutes a superseding cause.”
Madison County Circuit Judge Dennis Ruth denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss on March 18, finding “the question of willful and wanton conduct to be a question of fact.”
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 Shea was the driver and was fleeing from police in a stolen vehicle.
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 alleges 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 alleges 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 claims 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.
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 Aug. 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