Plaintiff as special administrator of an individual who died after a physical altercation with a police officer filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer, his employer, a hospital, and a physician. The village and the police officer filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the officer was entitled to absolute immunity from civil suit under section 4-102 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act and that the plaintiff had failed to show that the officer’s use of force was without legal justification and resulted from willful and wanton conduct under section 2-202. The trial court granted the motion under both sections and plaintiff appealed. The appellate reversed, finding that a reasonable person could conclude that the officer was not providing police protection service when the decedent was at the hospital and finding a question of fact existed as to whether the officer engaged in willful and wanton conduct. (ODEN JOHNSON and TAILOR, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Local Government Tort Immunity