Kansas Highway Patrol to pay $500,000 after passenger killed in police chase in Topeka
The Kansas Highway Patrol will pay a half million dollars to the family of a woman who died in a 2021 police chase in Topeka.
The settlement was approved Wednesday by the State Finance Council.
According to the lawsuit, Trooper Justin Dobler was patrolling on March 6, 2021, when he allegedly saw a car with a cracked windshield. It looked similar to a white Ford Crown Victoria that was on a list of stolen vehicles. He attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the driver did not stop and a chase began.
About 45 seconds into the pursuit, the lawsuit said Dobler identified the car as a Mercury Grand Marquis.
Dobler provided dispatch information including the license plate number and was told a couple minutes later that the vehicle was not stolen. The vehicle allegedly was speeding up to 55 mph in a 35 mph zone. He twice attempted a “tactical vehicle intervention” to disable the car. The third attempt was successful and the car spun out and struck a utility pole.
Passenger Anita Benz, 45, was killed.
Her daughter filed a federal lawsuit in March.
The lawsuit said the highway patrol found Dobler had violated the agency’s chase policy.
He had already been reprimanded in two previous chases. One resulted in a crash which could have been avoided, the lawsuit said, and in the second incident, Dobler shut off his lights and sirens, but continued to pursue a vehicle at a high speed.
Just a few months before the fatal incident, members of the Topeka area troop had been told not to pursue vehicles in the city unless someone was in immediate danger. Dobler was privately ordered not to engage in chases within the city limits.
The driver, Jeremy A. Cline, was charged with first-degree murder, flee or attempt to elude police, interference, drug possession and other traffic violations in Shawnee County District Court.
The criminal case remains ongoing.
In March, the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld a district court decision in Cline’s case saying evidence found after the crash was inadmissible.
In a 22-page ruling, the Court of Appeals said the severity for initiating a pursuit was a factor in weighing whether Dobler’s use of force was reasonable.
“One fact that is strikingly absent from Dobler’s testimony is any concern he should have had for the safety of Cline’s passenger, Benz,” the court continued. “She, too, was a member of the public that Dobler should have been trying to protect. There is no evidence in the record that Benz was linked to Cline’s criminal activity or that she was encouraging him to evade law enforcement.”
The court concluded that Dobler’s tactical vehicle intervention caused the crash and directly led to Benz’ death.
