Kevin Bethel
PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia has failed to dismiss two claims in a lawsuit against it that stems from a fatal high-speed chase involving its police officers.
Federal judge John Younge said Nov. 4 the plaintiff may “ultimately face an uphill battle,” but at the early stages Landaya Floyd’s lawsuit, she is owed a chance to prove officers are liable for a state-created danger and the City implemented inadequate policies on chases.
The lawsuit over the death of Zyaire Floyd seeks more than $1 million and alleges cops recklessly chased two vehicles in a densely populated neighborhood.
“(T)he pleadings support an inference at the motion-to-dismiss stage that the officer defendants did intent to harm Mr. Floyd,” Younge wrote.
Chief of Police Kevin Bethel, Capt. James Kimrey and officers Jeremy Elliot and Timothy Esack are co-defendants with the City. The officers were in a high-speed chase of another man driving a silver Hyundai suspected to be stolen on July 10, 2023, on Hill Road.
Floyd was a passenger in the Hyundai. The officers then encountered a silver Kia they also believed to be stolen and started chasing both.
The Hyundai crashed, and Floyd exited the car. The Kia then also crashed near the Hyundai and killed Floyd. He was two weeks away from turning 18 years old.
The suit says the officers were driving more than 55 mph in a 25-mph zone and did not activate their lights, sirens or horn until the end of the chase. These allegation are enough to claim a state-created danger, Younge wrote.
Count II, a so-called “Monell” claim, says Philadelphia failed to establish an adequate policy for high-speed chases. Though the Philadelphia Police Department does have a policy for vehicular pursuits, it is alleged there was no training on it.
The suit claims between 2015-2019, nearly 60% of chases were unjustified. Between 2015-2020, chases resulted in injury or death to 36 civilians, 34 suspects and 11 officers.
“(I)t can be inferred from these pleadings that the City of Philadelphia has been deliberately indifferent to the consequences of its allegedly deficient training policies, that such alleged deficiencies led to the injury in this case, and that the alleged failure to train has led to a pattern of constitutional violations,” Younge wrote.
Laura Zipin and Brian Zeiger of Levin & Zeiger represent the plaintiff.
