Family of woman killed in Kansas police chase over missing tag sues for wrongful death
The family of a woman killed in a 2018 crash during a police chase has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against two police officers and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Chrissy Saale’s three children, alleges the officers, Shenee Davis Gonzales and Jorge L. Flores, were negligent and violated police policies.
Gonzales is still with the police department. Flores left in February 2019, according to Unified Government spokesman Mike Taylor, who said he cannot comment on pending litigation.
The 29-year-old woman was killed in a Sept. 20, 2018, crash after officers chased a car without the proper license tag.
“The pursuit seems way out of line with best practices,” said Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina.
“Here you have a chase for a very minor violation and very great risk, so you have this imbalance if you will, and I think that’s where you have to look and see why did the police chase, why did they continue to chase and how do you justify raising the risk to the public for such a minor offense.”
Officers noticed the vehicle near 18th and Metropolitan Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, and the car, driven by Collan Cross, fled.
Saale was a passenger.
Cross, now 26, drove into Kansas City, Missouri, before returning to Kansas City, Kansas, where he drove west in the eastbound lane of Interstate 70.
Kansas City, Kansas, patrol cars drove parallel to Cross in the westbound lanes, according to the lawsuit.
He collided with an oncoming eastbound vehicle and Saale was killed.
Police violated policy, the lawsuit claims, when they proceeded to chase the vehicle and drove parallel to Cross on the highway.
It also alleges that Gonzales failed to report the policy violation in her original report, but later in a supplemental report acknowledged that the parallel pursuit policy had been violated.
Officer Flores had been the subject of multiple disciplinary complaints, court documents said.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Wyandotte County District Court, alleges the two officers and the Unified Government engaged in negligence.
“I just think that it’s apparent that the chase — if they had followed their established policies — the chase would have ended much earlier and there never would have been an accident,” attorney Steven Ediger said.
“We are hopeful that a jury would award a fair amount for them ... Nothing makes up for the loss of your mother but give them a reasonable settlement, let them kind of go on living their lives.”
Taylor, the Unified Government spokesman, said it was important to note that Cross was convicted of second-degree murder, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and eluding a law enforcement officer.
Cross’ earliest possible release date from prison is July 28, 2033, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
