At issue in these consolidated appeals is whether appellant, the District of Columbia, is liable for the deaths of the driver and a passenger in a motor vehicle which was sfruek by the driver of another vehicle who was being pursued in a high speed chase by police officers of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Donna Love, who was driving, and her seven year old nephew, James Gripper, Jr., were killed in the accident. Appellees, Natalie Love Hawkins, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of James Bernell Gripper, Jr. and Reginald Lamont Dease, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Donna Love, brought the actions under the District of Columbia Wrongful Death Act (D.C.Code § 16-2701) (2001)and the District of Columbia Survival Act (D.C.Code § 12-101) (2001).
1
A jury awarded damages on behalf of appellees in the total amount of $5,997,751.77. The trial court denied the District’s post trial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, concluding that the evidence supported the finding that the police officers’ conduct constituted gross negligence.
2
The trial court granted, in part, the District’s motion for remittitur, ordering appellees to remit the sum of $3,772,153.00. This resulted in a judgment of $753,169.61 to Natalie Love Hawkins as mother and personal representative of the estate of James Gripper, Jr., $160,000.00 individually to
I.
The Evidence
A. The High Speed Chase
On May 7, 1991, at about 6:00 p.m., Joseph Brooks saw a Nissan Pathfinder hit a pedestrian near the 800 block of Ridge Road, S.E. and drive away. Brooks called to bystanders to alert the police. Almost immediately, a citizen reported the hit and run accident to Officers Thomas Lee and Norman Power, who were in the area in Scout Car 50. Officer Lee, who was driving, activated his vehicle’s lights and sirens and tried to pull the Pathfinder over. The driver of the Pathfinder made a left turn onto 37th Street, turned on Ely Place, S.E., and proceeded toward Minnesota Avenue, S.E. As the Pathfinder made the turn onto Ely Place, a passenger jumped out of the vehicle. While on Ely Place, the Pathfinder traveled at increasing speeds, ranging from 50 miles per hour to 90 miles per hour. Donna Love was driving a Dodge Colt that day, and her seven year old nephew, James Gripper, Jr., was with her. Ms. Love was traveling north on Minnesota Avenue through the intersection of Ely Place when the Pathfinder entered the intersection and struck Ms. Love’s car. Ms. Love was thrown from the car, and both she and her nephew died at the scene as a result of their injuries.
The speed limit in the area was 25 miles per hour. There was testimony that there is an incline on Ely Place about 300 hundred feet before it reaches Minnesota Avenue which prevents a motorist from seeing the intersection at Minnesota Avenue and Ely Place. There was evidence that there was a pre-school building locаted in the area where the pursuit began and that 37th Street is a residential area with private homes and multi-unit apartment buildings. Sousa Junior High School is at 37th Street and Ely Place, and an elementary school is at Ely Place and Minnesota Avenue, according to the evidence. Officer Lee, the driver of the lead police car, testified that he was familiar with the area and knew that it was residential, with schools and day care centers. Officer Norman Power testified that both he and Officer Lee knew that there was traffic at the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Ely Place and that it was rush hour. Officer Power also testified that vehicle pursuits shоuld be called off when the speed becomes excessive and that 70, 80 and 90 miles per hour during rush hour is excessive. He estimated the Pathfinder’s speed
Officer Stringer and his partner, Officer Marable, were in Scout Car 51, pursuing behind Scout Car 50. Officer Marable, who was driving, testified that he also knew the neighborhood was residential, that there were schools and a day care center in the area, and that it was rush hour. He testified that he knew by the time the Pathfinder reached 37th Street and Ridge Road that it would not stop. He also testified that a vehicle pursuit at 70, 80, 90 or 100 miles per hour is not appropriate in a residential neighborhood during rush hour when there is heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
Several civilians, who witnessed the chase and collision, testified at trial. One witness, Matthew Shealey, who was stopped for a light at Ely Place, estimated the speed of the Pathfinder and police cars at 80 to 90 miles per hour as they traveled down Ely Place. He said that the lead police car was close behind the Pathfinder, as close as “bumper-to-bumper.” Shеaley described traffic conditions as heavy, and he said there were pedestrians all over the area. David Proctor, who was sitting on his porch in the area of Ely Place and Anacostia Road, testified that he saw a white Pathfinder pass his home at an estimated speed of 80 miles per hour with police cars following two car lengths or so behind the Pathfinder. Proctor testified that the first police car was 30 to 35 feet from the Pathfinder when it braked just prior to the impact. Shealey’s passenger, Lawrence Jones, estimated the speeds at 75 to 80 miles per hour. However, he estimated that there were three to five car lengths between the police car and the Pathfinder. Carlton Bradshaw, who was standing at a bus stop at the corner of Minnesota Avenue and Ely Place, testified that the Pathfinder’s speed was 90 miles per hour as it came'into the intersection with the police vehicles following directly behind it with their lights and sirens on. He testified that he saw the Pathfinder drive over the Dodge Colt, fly through the air, flip on its top and come to a stop behind the Colt. He saw Ms. Love ejected from the Dodge Colt “like a cork popfing] out of a champagne bottle.” He observed a young man comforting the little boy who remained in the vehicle and holding his hand. Kenny Pickeral testified that he was in front of his house in the 100 block of 34th Street, heard the sirens and saw the Pathfinder hit the Colt and the police cars right behind the Pathfinder in the intersection. Bruce Wilson, who lived two blocks from the intersection where the accident occurred, saw the two police cars chasing the Pathfinder at a speed between 70 to 80 miles per hour. He testified that before they reached the hill, the first police car was no more than two car lengths behind the Pathfinder.
B. Expert Testimony
Appellees called three witnesses who offered expert testimony concerning the accident: George Little, an accident re-constructionist; Dr. George Kirkham, an expert in police policies, practices, standards and procedures; and Robert Klotz, a former MPD officer with expertise in police practices, policies, procedure and training. Little, an accident reeonstruc-tionist for over fifteen years, testified that the minimum speed of the Pathfinder was 83 miles per hour, but it could have been as much as 85 to 90 miles per hour. Little conceded, however, that if the police car was travelling less than a car length
In Dr. Kirkham’s expert opinion, the pursuit by the police officers was an extreme violation of nationally accepted law enforcement standards and procedures. 3 He testified that a law enforcement officer is supposed to weigh the seriousness of an offense and the urgency of making an immediate apprehension of a suspect in a vehicular pursuit against the foreseeability of the risk of danger of death or injury to innocent persons. Kirkham testified that the officers should have considered the area as being residential, that there was an intersection controlled by a signal light ahead, the time of day — between 6:00 and 6:15 p.m. — and the actions of the suspect’s vehicle.
Robert Klotz testified that he is a retired dеputy chief of the MPD and consults on police practices. He spent six years patrolling the area of the collision. In Klotz’s expert opinion, there is a national standard of care for police conduct during a hot pursuit, and the officers did not meet the applicable standard of care and were grossly negligent. Klotz was of the opinion that the officers in this chase were “pushing” the Pathfinder and mimicking the driver’s actions instead of just trying to keep him in sight. He testified that by maintaining the same speed as the Pathfinder, they were as much of a danger to other vehicles and pedestrians on the street as the car they were chаsing. Klotz testified that once the officers knew the Pathfinder would not stop, his rate of speed, location, time of day and other circumstances, they should have notified the dispatcher and discontinued the chase.
Gilbert Smith testified that he has been a vehicle skills instructor with the MPD for seven years and has been with the police department for twenty-four years. He testified that he taught a course on emergency pursuit driving procedures. He testified that police officers are taught that the chase can be discontinued at speeds of 50 miles per hour or more “depending on the circumstances of the traffic, congestion, or pedestrians, or weather conditions.” Smith testified that all police officers are given a copy of the Metropolitan Police Department General Order 801 which sets out the considerations for deciding whether to start or stop a chase. The officers were required to study the Order which lists among the factors for consideration: speed of the chase, weather conditions, mechanical handling of the vehicle, reason for the pursuit and risk to the officer and other citizens.
Joseph Dodson, Jr. testified that he is the supervisor of the Vehicle Skills Unit of the training division and has been a sergeant with the MPD for twenty-three years. Dodson testified thаt in 1990 and 1991 there was a sixteen week training academy for new recruits of the police department and in those sixteen weeks a forty hour course is devoted to vehicle skills. Dodson testified that a course titled “Vehicle Pursuit” entailed approximately “15 to 20 minutes” of training each officer in high speed pursuits. In a prior deposition, Dodson stated that there was
II.
Gross Negligence Theory
A. Applicable Legal Principles
“The District of Columbia cannot be held liable for claims arising out of the operation of a police car on an emergency run unless the officer driving the car acted with gross negligence.”
District of Columbia v. Henderson,
the movement of a District-owned vehicle, by direction of the operator or of some other authorized person ..., under circumstances which lead the operator ... to believe that such vehicle should proceed expeditiously upon a particular mission ... for the purpose of dealing with a supposed ... emergency, an alleged violation of a statute or regulation. ...
In the context of this statute, we have defined “gross negligence” to require “such an extreme deviаtion from the ordinary standard of care as to support a finding of wanton, willful and reckless disregard or conscious indifference for the rights and safety of others.”
District of Columbia v. Walker,
B. Analysis
The District argues that the evidence establishes as a matter of law that the police officers were not grossly negligent. In support of its argument, the District relies principally upon this court’s decision in
Walker, supra.
In
Walker,
this court held that the police were not grossly negligent in continuing to chase an underage driver in a stolen vehicle through red lights onto a parkway, where they reached speeds of approximately 90 miles per hour.
Walker,
The facts in Walker differ from the facts in the present case in imрortant respects. In this case, the chase occurred in a residential area of the city, where private homes and multi-unit apartment buildings and schools were located. All of the officers involved in the chase were familiar with the conditions of the neighborhood. The chase and ensuing accident happened during the rush hour, at a busy intersection for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Officer Lee, who drove the first scout car, and his partner, Officer Power, testified that they knew that the intersection where the accident occurred would be crowded during that time of day. There was testimony that the Pathfinder’s speed was 83 to 90 miles pеr hour as it entered the intersection with the police vehicles, with sirens and emergency lights activated, following directly behind it. Officer Lee testified that he did not come to a stop until he was in the intersection, after he slammed on the brakes, when he saw the red light and to avoid colliding with the Pathfinder.
Most importantly, as the police knew, the roadway (Ely Place) had a crest which obstructed the view of what was on the other side of the hill. Thus, as the trial court pointed out, the evidence showed that “these officers were driving at an excessively high rate of speed without knowing what faced them, or the Nissan Pathfinder they were pursuing, over the crest of the hill.” The jury could reasonably find that all these circumstances establish more than simple negligence.
Cf. Henderson, supra,
While the need to apprehend the driver was more urgent in this case than in Walker;
6
it is only one factor to be balanced against others, including the hazards of the chase to people on the street. “[T]he appropriаte inquiry is whether, given the balance of the factors in th[e] case, a reasonable juror could conclude that the conduct of the [police] officers so grossly deviated from the conduct required under the circumstances as to support a finding of wanton, willful and reckless disregard or conscious indifference for the rights and safety of others.”
The District argues that the police officers violated no law in the course of the pursuit and were attempting to protect the public safety. It contends that the conduct of the police here was consistent with standard techniques used to stop the driver of a vehicle who is suspected of having committed a crime. In the course of a vehicle pursuit to apprehend a criminal offender, a police officer may exceed the speed limit and ignore traffic lights.
Henderson, supra,
III.
Damages
A. Loss of Maternal Services
The District argues, that assuming liability was established in this case, it was plain error fоr the court to permit the jury to award Donna Love’s children damages for loss of maternal services. The District contends that loss of maternal services is synonymous with parent-child consortium for which recovery is precluded in the District of Columbia under
District of Columbia v. Howell,
Finally, the District argues that the reduced awards of $500,000 to James Gripper, Jr., and $350,000 to Donna Love for pain and suffering and pre-death mental anguish are still excessive. It contends that the child, James Gripper, Jr., experienced conscious pain and suffering fоr only two to five minutes and that Donna Love suffered consciously for only a few seconds, or “less than a minute,” according to the medical expert, Dr. Brownlee. The District contends that a proper award cannot exceed $5,000 each. Appellees respond that: (1) the District has not demonstrated how the trial court abused its discretion in granting the remittitur; and (2) verdicts should not be measured strictly on a comparative basis.
The jury awards for these elements of damages were $1,500,000 for the estate of James Gripper, Jr. and $1,000,000 for the estate of Donna Love. In remitting these parts of the verdict, the trial court considered that the evidence established that James Gripper, Jr. probably suffered conscious pain and suffering for two to five minutes and that the duration of Ms. Love’s pain and suffering was somewhat less. The court observed in a footnote that the expert witness, Dr. Brownlee had testified that Ms. Love’s spinal cord was severed upon landing on the concrete after ejection from the vehicle, and that although she would have experienced some conscious pain and suffering even after the spinal cord had been severed, he concluded that it would have been for less than a minute. The trial court substantially granted remittitur for both awards, concluding that the amounts that it sеt were the highest reasonable sums the jury could have awarded for pain, suffering and pre-death mental anguish. In so ruling the trial court stated that it
has been mindful and attentive to the view that comparing verdicts in other cases is not talismanic and controlling. This Court has noted and has attempted to heed the admonition in Capitol Hill Hosp. v. Jones,532 A.2d 89 (D.C.1987) that “verdicts should not be measured strictly on a comparative basis.” Id. at 93.
The grant of a new trial for an excessive award of damages will be reversed only when the amount of the award exceeds the maximum limit of a reasonable range within which the jury could find.
Vassiliades v. Garfinckel’s, Brooks Bros.,
The District relies on this court’s decision in
Finkelstein, supra,
where this court affirmed the trial court’s decision finding a composite verdict of $1,030,002 excessive where the pecuniary loss was only $50,000 to $62,000 and the remainder had to be for pain and suffering of less than two and one-quarter hours.
Id.
at 596. The District points out that the awards here, where the suffering lasted from two to five minutes, are proportionately greater than those in
Finkelstein
and should therefore be reduced to an amount not to exceed $5,000.00.
See also Jones v. Wittenberg Univ.,
In this case, in addition to Dr. Brown-lee’s testimony, there was testimony of an eyewitness who observed the victims at the scene of the accident. Carlos McCain testified that Ms. Love was still alive when he went over to her after she was thrown out of the car and that she appeared to be in “a lot of pain.” He testified that “she was moaning.” He sаid that it was within minutes before he went to check on the child. He found him “moaning” and in pain. He remained with the child for four or five minutes during which time he was alive, and he tried to reassure him. The witness testified that both victims were alive for ten to twenty minutes.
12
Our review of the evidence in the record does not persuade us that the trial court abused its discretion in not further reducing the verdict for pain and suffering and pre-death mental anguish. The amount remaining after remittitur does not shock the conscience or exceed the limits within which the jury could operate.
See Vassiliades, supra,
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court hereby is
Affirmed.
Notes
. Myron Harley, Sr., the father of Ms. Love’s two surviving children, Myrоn Harley, Jr. and Sandy Harley, was also a nominal plaintiff in the trial court. However, suits under the Wrongful Death and Survival Acts are enforceable by the legal representative of the decedent’s estate, and the survivor’s interest is recoverable by the personal representative.
See Strother v. District of Columbia,
. Although concluding that the negligent training claim was improperly submitted to the jury on a simple negligence theory, the trial court ultimately statеd that it was unnecessary to resolve the issue, having found for appellees on the gross negligence theoiy.
. Dr. Kirkham, testified that he is a professor emeritus at Florida State University in criminology and criminal justice as well as a private criminal justice consultant. Kirkham has been involved in serving as a trainer, lecturer and consultant to "some” 50 different law enforcement agencies in the United States and "in addition to books and written materials 'Kirkham’ authored some twenty-three training films and videotape accompanying manuals” that are widely used by police officers throughout the nation. He took a leave of absence in 1971 from his university post tо work as a uniformed patrol officer which he continued to do until 1991.
. The entire chase covered approximately five miles; however, the court held that the proper focus was on the chase on Suitland Parkway where the collision occurred, rather than the police actions and conditions which existed at earlier points.
Walker, supra,
. In
Henderson,
this court held that officers who ran a red light and struck a car while responding to an emergency call were not grossly negligent. The factors identified which weighed against a finding of gross negligence included that the officer, who was driving the first of two police cars that struck the plaintiff’s vehicle, crossed an intersection on a legitimate Code One emergency at only five to ten miles per hour above the speed limit, with his emergency lights flashing and sirens and high beams activated, and he applied his brakes when he entered the intersection.
Henderson,
. The Pathfinder was reported to have been involved in a hit and run accident.
. We do not consider the District to be challenging the finding of proximate cause in this case. In light of our disposition finding that liability on a gross negligence theory was established, we need not address the District's argument related to the negligent training theory.
. The District does not challenge the award for the loss of household services, which the trial court reduced to $109,000.
.
See Pleasant v. Washington Sand & Gravel Co.,
104 U.S.App. D.C. 374, 375,
. We perceive no basis to conclude, as the District suggests, that the award was based on the value of companionship.
. In the present case, the trial court remitted the verdict or alternatively granted a new trial. Appellees accepted the remittitur.
. McCain testified that he was a psychiatric counselor at Womack Army Medical Center, that his training included medical training and his level of training was equivalent to a licensed practical nurse.