Tidwell v. City and County of Denver

A Denver police officer followed a green Oldsmobile to stop and apprehend its driver. The Oldsmobile failed to obey a stop sign and collided with a limousine, killing the limousine driver and seriously injuring passenger Britt Tidwell. Tidwell sued the City and County of Denver, alleging the officer engaged in a high-speed pursuit without using emergency lights or siren.

Was the officer engaged in a pursuit that required emergency signals, and could Denver claim governmental immunity if those signals were not used?

In plain English, the court had to decide how the legal rule applied to the officer's real-world decision, not just whether the outcome felt reasonable after the fact.

The Colorado Supreme Court held that the officer was engaged in a pursuit and that the pursuit was not merely investigatory. Because the officer was required to activate emergency signals, Denver could not claim governmental immunity on the basis accepted by the lower courts. The court also held that summary judgment on causation was inappropriate.

Under Colorado law, an officer who hurriedly follows a fleeing driver to stop or apprehend the driver can be in pursuit even if lights and siren are not activated. When the officer already has authority to stop or arrest the driver, the pursuit is not merely investigatory, and emergency-signal requirements matter to governmental-immunity analysis.

The court used the ordinary meaning of pursuit rather than relying only on police department labels. It reasoned that the officer followed the Oldsmobile to apprehend the driver after the driver fled, and the officer already had authority to stop the driver. The court rejected the view that the chase was only investigatory and remanded for further proceedings.

Officers should treat a hurried attempt to overtake or apprehend a fleeing driver as a pursuit for legal-risk purposes. If the officer is going to disregard ordinary traffic rules, emergency signals and pursuit policy compliance are critical.

Use authorized emergency equipment and follow pursuit policy when pursuing a fleeing vehicle, especially when speed or traffic-rule exceptions are involved.

Do not assume a chase is outside pursuit rules simply because it began as an investigation or because emergency lights and siren were not activated.

Tidwell does not say every follow is a high-speed pursuit. It says courts look at what the officer was actually doing: following to overtake, stop, or apprehend.