Kansas City police pay more than $1 million to victims injured in 2020 police chase crash
Police paid out more than $1 million to settle three legal claims following a multi-vehicle injury collision, the result of an officer chasing another vehicle the wrong way down a Kansas City street last year, according to police reports.
The crash occurred May 2, 2020 at the intersection of 9th Street and Cleveland Avenue. Kansas City police officers were called to the 3800 block of Independence Avenue to investigate a disturbance that resulted in an aggravated assault involving a vehicle.
According to the report, officers were attempting to conduct a car check following the emergency call, when the chase began.
Two motorists who were not involved in the police chase were treated for injuries.
The crash report identified the victims as Rita Thomas-Aguirre and Marlon Martinez. Neither person could be reached for comment. No attorney was listed in the police document.
There was a third victim who was a juvenile.
“We deeply regret the pain and suffering this family experienced as a result of injuries sustained in this crash,” said Sgt. Jacob Becchina in a statement emailed to The Star. “We continue to place great emphasis on minimizing risk to the public and training safe driving in emergency situations.”
The settlements were recently obtained by The Star through a Missouri Open Records Request to the police department.
The Kansas City Police Department’s policy says officers should not initiate a pursuit for a traffic violation, DUI or stolen vehicle unless the occupants have been involved in a dangerous felony or there is an immediate danger to others.
Some states have laws providing strict guidelines for its law enforcement agencies to follow, such as limiting police pursuits to crimes that pose a substantial public safety risk.
In Missouri, law enforcement agencies are required to develop a policy that at minimum establishes supervision for pursuits, creates procedures for coordinating with other jurisdictions and establishes guidelines for weighing the interest of public safety against justification of a chase.
National experts previously interviewed by The Star say the best policies are typically more conservative.
The Kansas City metro has seen several chases end in injury to bystanders. In one Grandview case from 2004, the family of a 16-year-old hit by a speeding cruiser was awarded $2.9 million.
According to the police crash report from last year’s crash, the officer, listed as David A. Rhodenbaugh, chased a Chevy Impala as it sped southbound on Cleveland Avenue, which is a one-way street that only goes northbound. Rhodenbaugh had the emergency lights and siren activated as he continued to pursue the Impala.
As the police car approached the intersection at 9th Street, it slammed into the driver’s side door a silver 2002 Honda Accord that was eastbound. The two cars crossed the intersection towards the east.
The police car slammed into utility poles. One utility pole broke off at ground level that landed on a metal fence at nearby business and on an empty parked car also located at the business.
The police car created a 30-foot skid mark on the pavement, when it tried to stop before the crash.
Thomas-Aguirre and a passenger in the front seat were treated at a hospital for serious injuries. Both officers in the Ford were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
The police vehicle had heavy damage to the front end and the right rear side area. The Honda sustained heavy damage to the driver’s and passenger’s side doors, according to the police report.
A retaining wall and an elevated empty lot located on the northwest corner of the intersection could have prevented the drivers from seeing each other as they approached the intersection, the police investigators noted in the report.
Rhodenbaugh and the other officer involved in the crash are currently assigned to the patrol bureau division, Becchina said.
The settlement was not part of a lawsuit filed against the police department. It is among several payments the police department has made for incidents involving their officers.
The police department recently paid $200,000 in a legal settlement to a man severely injured after police fired a tear gas canister during a demonstration against police brutality last summer on the Country Club Plaza.
Prior to that, Kansas City police commissioners paid $750,000 to settle an excessive use of force allegation against the department and a police sergeant who was charged with assault after he allegedly forced his knee on the back of a teen’s head during an arrest.
The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed to this reporting.
