On June 20, 2024, A 16-year-old boy and his mother were tragically killed when they were struck as they exited a parking lot by a speeding police car with no lights or sirens on. The police car was driven by third-year police officer, Blademir Viveros, of the Missouri City Police Department. Viveros was responding to a call of a robbery wherein the alleged robber was fleeing in a vehicle while being pursued by the victim. As Viveros sped to join in the pursuit, Mason Stewart pulled out and was stuck by the police car. Mason, who was driving his mother, Angela Stewart, had just turned 16 that day and received his driver’s license. The officer was relieved of duty pending the investigation.
Was Failure to Yield a Contributing Factor?
The accident investigation noted that Mason Stewart failed to yield to the speeding police car. One of the things all teenage drivers need to learn is how to judge the speed and distance of approaching vehicles. This can be difficult for adults, especially when it involves a speeding vehicle. But, on the flip side, isn’t this exactly why police have lights and sirens? Isn’t it at least in part, so that the lights and noise call attention to the fact that the vehicle is speeding down the road towards you and not simply driving at a normal pace? If the officer had turned on his lights and sirens, this very well could have alerted the young driver to stop and let the police car pass before proceeding. While it might be easy for some to dismiss this case as a young driver error or a one-off situation, there have been two police pursuits resulting in fatal accidents since this accident in the San Antonio area.
Lack of Statewide Regulation for Police Chases
This case highlights the lack of consistency for police officers engaging in chases in Texas. There is no federal nor even statewide rule or guideline that officers and their departments must follow. Each department and/or city comes up with their own guidelines. Texas law leaves it largely up to the officer’s discretion as to when to pursue a criminal and whether to engage lights or sirens. From a civil liability standpoint, the officers have sovereign immunity—which basically forces a victim to prove that the officer was grossly negligent in their decision to pursue or not engage lights or sirens.
Missouri City Texas Police Pursuits
A 2023 End of Year Report of the Missouri City Police Department described their pursuit policy as follows:
Ironically, the 2021 and 2022 End of Year Reports used identical language to describe the 2021 and 2022 pursuit policies, despite it being supposedly updated in 2023. More noticeably absent is any mention of when lights and sirens must or should be engaged. Officer Viveros came from another force and had only been with Missouri City for one year. It makes you wonder if he was clear on which rule he was even required to follow when the car crash occurred.
Another Strange Twist in the Case
Two hours after the crash happened, the investigating officers finally noticed that there was a person in the back of Viveros’ vehicle. The officer had picked up another suspect on an unrelated matter when he decided to join the armed robbery pursuit. The man was injured in the wreck requiring surgery and leaving him paralyzed. He has retained a Missouri City personal injury attorney and is now suing the Missouri City Police Department. His allegations are that the officer recklessly put him in danger by speeding while not engaging his sirens or lights.
Conclusion
The recent police chases ending in tragedy demonstrate the dangers of police chases. Some states have enacted laws to prohibit police chases—because the risk is greater than the reward. Others, leave it up to the officer’s discretion. After seeing how that is working out in Texas, perhaps statewide guidelines would be a good idea.
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