Family files lawsuit after police chase in Independence kills two innocent bystanders
.JPG "A memorial was created near Scott Avenue and Winner Road in Independence after two innocent bystanders were struck and killed by a driver fleeing from Independence police officers in March.")
The family of a man who died after being struck by a driver fleeing from police is suing four police officers and the City of Independence.
Jake Monteer, 41, and Jessica Fields, 42, were innocent bystanders who were killed in a March 22 collision near Scott Avenue and Winner Road.
Monteer’s parents David and Terri Monteer filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit alleges Officers Joshua Gena, Robert Romey, Jeremie Stauch and Eric Simpson were negligent when they pursued a driver who was seen getting into a vehicle that was allegedly stolen.
Officers failed to immobilize the vehicle and prevent the chase, the lawsuit claims, and then placed stop sticks “at a dangerous location.”
The driver hit the stop sticks, lost control and struck Jake Monteer’s motorcycle.
Jake Monteer died at the scene. Fields was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
The lawsuit alleges that officers failed to take pictures at the scene or interview witnesses in “an attempt to ‘cover-up’ the dangerous and negligent use of the stop sticks at the intersection.”
The chase continued until the driver was apprehended. He was identified as 27-year-old Melvin Brown.
Jackson County prosecutors charged Brown with two counts of second-degree murder, fleeing, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with a motor vehicle, court documents said. His trial is scheduled to begin in March.
The lawsuit also alleges that the city failed to properly train officers and fostered “a ‘wild west’ culture with respect to vehicle pursuits.”
“They hope that this lawsuit will cause Independence to stop trading human lives for stolen cars by engaging in these high speed chases,” the Monteers attorney James Walker said.
Independence police officers have been involved in several deadly chases. In September, an officer attempted to stop a pickup truck without a license plate. A high-speed pursuit began and was called off moments before the driver crashed into a bystander’s car, killing a 50-year-old woman. In 2018, Independence officers chased a woman in a stolen vehicle who crashed into an uninvolved Dodge. Three people in the Dodge and a passenger in the stolen vehicle died.
The City of Independence and the Independence Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.
This story was originally published November 14, 2023 at 1:31 PM.
