A cyclist is in critical condition after being struck by a police car from the Mobile Police Department on Thursday morning.
According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Officer George Tolbert Jr., 65, of Irvington, was on his way to work in the MPD’s 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe when he collided with an Irvington cyclist named Robert Lee Bryant, 38, on Irvington Bayou. La Batre Highway at One Mile Road. Bryant was transported to USA Health University Hospital in critical condition.
Nothing more is available as the FTAA Highway Patrol Division continues to investigate.
In response to a request for files from Lagniappe, MPD lawyer Wanda Rahman wrote in an email that there had been 413 traffic accidents involving officers from 2019 to September 2021. No information was provided. was provided regarding the number of such serious accidents.
In August, a police officer struck a woman in his car while responding to an emergency call with his lights and sirens on. Personal injury attorneys told Lagniappe the chances of recourse in this situation are low due to state laws. MPD spokeswoman Charlette Solis told the newspaper that Tolbert did not turn on his lights or sirens when he hit the cyclist.
According to the Alabama code, a municipality’s tort liability is capped at $ 100,000.00 for bodily injury or death of a person in a single event. The recovery of damages under any judgment or judgment against a government entity is capped at $ 300,000.00 in total when more than two people have claims or judgments due to bodily injury or death resulting from a single event.
The Alabama Supreme Court said in a 2014 ruling that an individual police officer sued for actions outside of his employment does not benefit from the statutory limit of municipal liability.
