No automatic immunity for "arrest by vehicular crush"
Brian Bradford, by the Court's opinion, is a sort of hapless individual who lived hand-to-mouth and struggled with addictions. City of Ferndale police attempted to arrest him after a LIEN check identified the vehicle he was driving as stolen. Bradford got out of the truck and ran, but was apprehended when two officers trapped him between the bumpers of their respective police vehicles.
Bradford suffered permanent, severe injuries to his leg as a result of an open femur fracture. He sued the officers driving the two vehicles for "gross negligence" and they sought summary disposition of his claim.
While the Federal judge voiced serious doubt about Bradford's likely success at trial, he pointed out that the officers' attorneys were essentially arguing for complete immunity, regardless of the degree of force or the negligence evidenced by an arrest. The Judge refused to grant summary disposition and left it to jurors to decide whether the officers' actions were so illegal as to make the officers responsible for their share of fault in crushing Bradford's leg.