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Criminal Law Keyed to LaFave
Scott v. Harris
Citation:
550 U.S. 372 (2007)
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
On March 29, 2001, Deputy Clinton Reynolds clocked Victor Harris’s vehicle traveling at 73 mph in a 55-mph zone in Georgia. When Reynolds activated his blue flashing lights to pull Harris over, Harris fled, initiating a high-speed pursuit. Deputy Timothy Scott joined the pursuit after hearing radio communication about the chase. The chase exceeded speeds of 85 mph on winding, two-lane roads with Harris swerving around more than a dozen other vehicles and forcing some off the roadway. After approximately six minutes and 10 miles of pursuit, Scott requested and received permission to perform a Precision Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver. Instead, Scott applied his push bumper to the rear of Harris’s vehicle, causing Harris to lose control, crash, and suffer injuries that left him a quadriplegic. The entire chase was captured on video by cameras mounted on the police vehicles.
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