“Gail McDoe admits her 16-year-old son never should have been driving that car in 2005. He was the one who set off the chase with police, ending in a fiery crash that killed him.” Nonetheless, her $5 million lawsuit against the city of Newburgh, N.Y. alleges that cops should not have been so aggressive in chasing Dionte Jones and should have acted more quickly to attempt a rescue after he flipped his car into a gas field full of fuels and hazardous chemicals. The city’s in-house lawyer says an investigation indicates Jones died instantly and would not have been helped by a rescue attempt. (John Doherty, “Mother wants Newburgh police to share burden of son’s death”, Middletown Times Herald-Record, Jan. 6).
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In personal responsibility
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ny&vol=091&invol=0116
(After free registration)
“The primary issue on this appeal is whether plaintiff’s knowing participation in the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a crime commonly referred to as joy riding, precludes her recovery for injuries resulting from that conduct. Under thecircumstances presented here we conclude that plaintiff’s conduct constituted such a serious violation of the law as to warrant preclusion of her lawsuit.”
Rightly or wrongly I think the mother will ascert that her son had more to fear from the police because he was Black rather than any risk he could take in a high speed chase.
Were the taxpayers of Newburgh, N.Y. involved in this incident?
If not, why are they being persecuted?