Alabama Supreme Court justice questions ‘badly misguided’ Birmingham police chase policy in child’s wrongful death case

A lawsuit involving the City of Birmingham and the 2020 death of 5-year-old Kamerynn Young, who was killed in a hit-and-run by a driver fleeing from police, will move forward following a ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court on Friday.

Without issuing an opinion, the Court denied the City of Birmingham’s request to reverse a lower court decision that denied police officers immunity from being sued in the case. The ruling allows the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Kamerynn’s family to proceed.

One of the justices, however, voiced strong concerns about the Birmingham Police Department’s pursuit policy, which prohibits officers from chasing fleeing drivers under most circumstances. In a special concurring opinion, Justice Greg Cook expressed his belief that the policy was “badly misguided” and overly restrictive, preventing officers from fully executing their duties to protect public safety.

“In my opinion, this absolute policy of not pursuing fleeing drivers is badly misguided,” Justice Cook wrote. “I am deeply concerned with the degree to which it limits BPD police officers’ abilities to apprehend lawbreakers and protect public safety.”

The case stems from the tragic death of Kamerynn Young on April 1, 2020. Kamerynn was in a vehicle with her family when it was struck by Dustin Cody Martin, who had been driving erratically on I-59/20 and fled from police during a chase. Martin collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Springville Road and Roebuck Parkway, where Kamerynn’s car was hit. Martin then left the scene but was apprehended hours later in north Birmingham.

In 2022, Martin pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Kamerynn's family filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Martin, his employer Procomm Advanced Quality Solutions (which owned the truck he was driving), and the City of Birmingham, along with the two police officers involved in the pursuit, who are no longer with the department.

In July 2023, the city and officers filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking to dismiss the claims against them, arguing that they were immune from liability. However, in September 2023, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Javan Patton denied the city’s motion. The city then filed a petition for writ of mandamus with the Alabama Supreme Court, asking the high court to direct the trial judge to dismiss the claims and grant summary judgment.

On Friday, the Supreme Court denied the city’s petition in a 7-2 ruling without offering an opinion. 

After the ruling, Judge Patton scheduled a conference for November 14 to move the case forward and indicated her intent to set a trial date.

Justice Cook, while concurring with the majority decision, expressed concerns about the Birmingham Police Department’s pursuit policy, which prohibits officers from engaging in high-speed chases in cases of misdemeanor violations or reckless driving. Cook noted that despite his “extraordinary concerns” about the no-chase policy, he had no choice but to rule in favor of the majority, given that the officers appeared to have violated the policy in this case.

He argued that in cases where police departments have less restrictive pursuit policies, courts have ruled differently regarding officer immunity. However, because of the Birmingham Police Department’s strict policy, Justice Cook said he was “constrained” to agree with the decision, though he disagreed with the policy itself.

“Although I believe this policy is misguided, I must reluctantly concur with our Court’s decision today,” he wrote.