LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - The city of Las Cruces. New Mexico. has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the widow of a retired police officer who was fatally struck by a vehicle fleeing police in 2017, a newspaper reported.
J.R. Stewart, 61, was killed on his motorcycle by a carjacked SUV driven by two suspects who fled authorities at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
The Border Patrol called off its own pursuit out of concern for public safety, but police units chased the vehicle throughout the city, reaching 110 mph (177 kph), according to court documents.
The lawsuit accused police of violating city policy forbidding police pursuits when the danger to the public exceeds the danger to the officer.
Rosie Stewart and attorney Joleen Youngers, representing a wrongful death estate, signed the settlement agreement in February. The city did not acknowledge liability in the death of J.R. Stewart, who had been with the Las Cruces Police Department for 35 years.
The estate’s attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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