12.3 Dangerous Car Chase

In March 2001, Victor Harris, who was 19 years old, was speeding at 73 miles per hour on a stretch of road where the speed limit was 55 miles per hour. A police officer activated his blue flashing lights to signal Harris to pull over, but Harris sped away. The officer chased Harris and radioed his dispatch for assistance. Deputy Timothy Scott joined the pursuit along with other officers, and most of the chase occurred on a two-lane highway. At one point, Harris pulled into a shopping- center parking lot, where he collided with one of the patrol cars and then continued fleeing down the highway. Deputy Scott, now the lead pursuit vehicle, decided to stop Harris by ramming him from behind. He sought and received permission from his supervisor, who said “go ahead and take him out.” Scott pushed his bumper into the rear of Harris’s vehicle, which ran off the road, overturned, and crashed. Harris was badly injured in the crash, which left him a quadriplegic. He sued Scott for violating his Fourth Amendment rights, saying that Scott used excessive force to seize him.