(Download) "Porter v. City of Urbana" by Illinois Appellate Court — Fourth District Judgment Affirmed * Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Porter v. City of Urbana
- Author : Illinois Appellate Court — Fourth District Judgment Affirmed
- Release Date : January 15, 1980
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 60 KB
Description
The plaintiff appeals from the trial court's dismissal of her four-count complaint against the city of Urbana and one of its police officers, Charles Gordon, for failure to state a cause of action. The question on review is whether a municipality or its policemen may be liable in tort for failing to prevent persons from committing crimes. The plaintiff's complaint alleges that Clarence King, Jr., invaded her home December 3, 1976, and beat and raped her, and that the Urbana Police Department and Gordon knew of six other rapes committed by King in Urbana beginning March 22, 1976; Gordon was the officer responsible for investigating those rapes. The first and third counts allege wilful and wanton misconduct, and the second and fourth allege simple negligence. Each of the counts alleges that from March 22, 1976, until December 3, 1976, Gordon did not investigate, question, or arrest King despite having extensive information, including eyewitness descriptions of King, his fingerprints, and his name, connecting him with the series of rapes. According to the complaint, the failure to question or arrest King proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries. The complaint bases Gordon's duty on his powers to arrest and detain suspects (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 24, par. 3-9-4; ch. 38, par. 107-2(c)). The complaint also alleges that Urbana had insurance covering this type of liability when the cause of action arose, thus waiving the immunities provided by the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 85, par. 1-101 et seq.) (Tort Immunity Act). Urbana's liability for Gordon's conduct is based presumably upon respondeat superior.