Tacoma cop’s pursuit violated policy. Here’s what the city will pay injured bystander
The city of Tacoma has agreed to pay $1.25 million to a man hit and injured by a vehicle involved in a high-speed police chase in 2018 after determining the pursuing officer violated department policy.
In a lawsuit filed in July 2021, attorneys for the injured man, Tony Palas, alleged officer Matthew Riche initiated a dangerous and unnecessary pursuit of Rhoneasha Mitchell, a 28-year-old Seattle woman. The complaint also accused Riche of racially profiling Mitchell because she is Black and the officer hadn’t developed probable cause that she’d committed a crime.
The city admitted liability for Riche’s policy violation in court papers, and City Council members approved a settlement agreement on Tuesday. Riche, who TPD hired in 2015, denied the allegations through a separate attorney and was dismissed as a defendant in March.
Riche remains a TPD officer and received a verbal warning for the out-of-policy pursuit, according to city spokesperson Maria Lee.
“Ignoring the danger that high-speed police pursuits pose to the public is not acceptable,” an attorney for Palas, Kevin Hastings of the firm Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, wrote in a statement. “Tacoma Police Department has admitted liability for policy violations that caused this avoidable crash, but the department must do more to make sure that officers are properly trained and that policies are enforced.”
The officer wrote in a May 7, 2018, police report that he observed Mitchell speeding in a gold 2000 Mercedes sedan on South Warner Street near the Tacoma Mall, and he drove between 55 and 60 mph to catch up to her, according to charging documents. Riche reported he activated his lights and sirens after Mitchell turned onto South 38th Street heading east toward Interstate 5. Riche wrote Mitchell appeared to slow down briefly before accelerating again.
Riche lost sight of Mitchell’s car going up the hill on 38th Street when he let a nearby Tacoma sergeant pull in front of him to join the pursuit, according to charging documents. A state Department of Corrections officer also was in Riche’s patrol car.
As Mitchell’s Mercedes sped toward the I-5 interchange, Palas started turning left onto the highway, according to the lawsuit and court documents. Mitchell ran her red light and slammed into the passenger side of Palas’ truck at 60-plus mph, flipping it onto the driver’s side.
After the crash, Palas stood on top of his broken window, appeared confused and told police he wasn’t OK, according to charging documents. Riche then smashed the truck’s moon roof with his baton for Palas to get out.
Palas suffered “permanent and life-altering injuries” from the collision, including a neck fracture and nerve damage, according to Hastings and his lawsuit. Charging documents show one of Mitchell’s passengers suffered multiple lower body fractures and another broke their wrist.
Tacoma police policy — which predates recent state law reform aimed at reducing danger to bystanders — dictated that officers only initiate pursuits when a suspect posed a threat of serious bodily harm or the severity of a crime necessitated an immediate arrest. The policy also directed officers to terminate pursuits when the danger of the pursuit outweighed the urgency of an arrest.
The city wrote in court papers that Riche violated both rules by initiating the pursuit and then failing to terminate it.
Mitchell told investigators she fled to avoid arrest on a theft warrant and allegedly gave responding officers false names, according to charging documents. She also said she used heroin hours before the incident.
Mitchell pleaded guilty in July 2018 to attempting to elude police and two counts of vehicular assault, as well as illegally possessing a firearm as a felon because there was a gun in her car at the time of the police chase, according to court documents. She was sentenced to 33 months in prison as a part of a plea agreement.
Palas later sued Mitchell along with the city, and Superior Court Judge Karena Kirkendoll found Mitchell in default when she didn’t respond to the summons. Kirkendoll has not ruled on damages from Mitchell, who court officials determined was indigent in the underlying criminal case. Attempts by The News Tribune to contact her were not successful.
