Tacoma officer who ran over man in ’14 didn’t face review board, discipline. Here’s why
A Tacoma police officer who accidentally ran over a man lying in the street in 2014 wasn’t disciplined, and the matter wasn’t referred to the department’s Accident Review Board due to an administrative oversight, a court record indicates.
Emanuel N. Andrade sued the Police Department, the city and Officer Luke Faulkner, alleging that the officer was messaging a co-worker about meal plans on his computer when he slowly rolled over Andrade on June 14, 2014. Andrade had been lying by his car about 1 a.m. near North Fife Street and Sixth Avenue after a night of drinking.
He suffered head injuries, severe fractures to his arms and pelvis, and other wounds.
Earlier this month, jurors awarded Andrade $3.5 million, but reduced that by 50 percent because they found Andrade 50 percent responsible for what happened.
A motion filed by the city as part of the case last month said the incident was not referred to an Accident Review Board because of a human error. The city argued that fact and the lack of disciplinary action against Faulkner were not relevant for jurors to consider and therefore should be excluded from the trial.
“The City does not dispute that as a result of an apparent administrative oversight by a civilian police department employee, the incident giving rise to the instant lawsuit was not referred to TPD’s Accident Review Board (ARB),” the motion said. “However, not only should the Court preclude any evidence relating to the Accident Review Board, the Court should preclude any argument being made by the plaintiff that the failure of the Accident Review Board to convene is evidence that the City was negligent.
“The fact that the City did not conduct an Accident Review Board (ARB) following this incident is irrelevant to the issues actually before the jury, e.g., the jury’s determination of whether defendant Faulkner failed to exercise due care and caution which resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries.”
The city explained in its motion that the Police Department has a process when someone at the agency is in a vehicle accident. A supervisor responds, decides whether the accident was preventable and sends that report to superiors to see if they agree.
Then the incident goes to the Accident Review Board, which makes a final decision. The Board is made up of the traffic lieutenant, a first-line supervisor, a detective and two patrol officers, among others, according to the department’s procedures manual. It makes recommendations about training and reports the causes of accidents to the agency’s command staff.
“The accident in the instant case was never reviewed by the ARB, although it was sent to the secretary responsible for the ARB process,” the motion said.
The city also argued a supervisor’s report that indicated the incident was preventable should be excluded, as well as testimony that former Police Chief Don Ramsdell agreed with that report at his deposition.
Excluded from the trial
The only reason to present evidence about the lack of discipline, the city argued, would be to improperly argue and “inflame the jury’s passions that the City did not even care enough to discipline the officer.”
The city pointed out that Andrade hadn’t alleged negligent training or supervision.
“This is not a case where discipline is relevant, such as an employment discrimination case,” the motion said. “Plaintiffs have alleged, simply, that Officer Faulkner was a negligent driver on the night in question. Additionally, the fact that neither training recommendations were issued, nor any disciplinary measures initiated, can be related to the lack of an ARB convening to review this incident.”
Because it’s connected to the ARB, the city argued, it should be excluded.
Records show the court granted the city’s request that the lack of disciplinary action against Faulkner be excluded from the trial.
Asked what happened to the officer after the accident, whether he was disciplined and for more information about the administrative oversight and why it couldn’t be corrected, the Police Department said that information needed to be obtained through a Public Disclosure Request.
The News Tribune filed a Public Disclosure Request on Friday and had not received the records at the time of publication.
In response to questions from The News Tribune, Dan Hannula, an attorney who represented Andrade in the lawsuit, said Faulkner was not disciplined and that he returned to work within a week of running over Andrade.
“He just made a mistake that night, but he was negligent,” Hannula said in discussing the jury verdict. “... There’s a reason why officers have an onboard computer, I understand that. But when you use it for personal reasons and you’re not paying attention to the road, this is just a classic example of why you shouldn’t text and drive.”
The agency said at the time that Faulkner had been checking license plates on his computer and looking for car prowlers before he slowly rolled over Andrade. The lawsuit said the officer had been messaging a co-worker about where to get lunch that night.
Faulkner, a 7-year veteran of the department at the time, stopped and went to help Andrade when he realized what happened.
Hannula said Andrade, a former soldier, suffered from PTSD and had been self-medicating. Since then, the attorney said, the 30-year-old has been getting treatment through the Veterans Administration, has earned a two-year degree and is working on a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
This story was originally published July 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
