The family of Tiffany Fitzgerald filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Danbury and a former police officer, Jamie Hodge. Back in 2016, Fitzgerald was killed during a car chase with Hodge. It should be noted, however, that Fitzgerald was a passenger, not the driver. The wrongful death suit was filed late last month in New Haven and argues that Hodge, “who had only been on the force for one year, should never have chased the stolen vehicle on the streets of Danbury.” During the chase, the 1997 Ford Explorer that Fitzgerald was riding in crashed, throwing her from the vehicle.
The family of Tiffany Fitzgerald filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Danbury and a former police officer, Jamie Hodge. Back in 2016, Fitzgerald was killed during a car chase with Hodge. It should be noted, however, that Fitzgerald was a passenger, not the driver. The wrongful death suit was filed late last month in New Haven and argues that Hodge, “who had only been on the force for one year, should never have chased the stolen vehicle on the streets of Danbury.” During the chase, the 1997 Ford Explorer that Fitzgerald was riding in crashed, throwing her from the vehicle.
The driver of the Ford Explorer, Ricardo Andre, has since been charged with first-degree manslaughter and was found guilty “and sentenced to 11 years in prison.” However, “he will only serve six years of that, with three years on probation.”
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The lawsuit filed by Fitzgerald’s family, though, isn’t targeting Andre. Instead, it is targeting Hodge and accuses the former officer of acting recklessly. In fact, the suit alleges that he “violated department policy and traffic laws when he chased the SUV in his personal vehicle.” In addition to accusing Hodge of acting recklessly, the suit also alleges he acted in “excessive and unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment and unconstitutional custom, policy or practice; negligence; negligent use of highway; and reckless operation/indemnification.”
It’s important to note that, at the time of the accident, Hodge was “off-duty working a construction job when he noticed the Explorer, which had been reported stolen.” Hodge later “pleaded guilty to traveling unreasonably fast and not obeying a traffic control signal,” according to the Waterbury Superior Court clerk’s office. He ended up paying $347 in fines and his case “was disposed of April 26.”
According to the lawsuit, Fitzgerald had three children and hardly knew Andre. In fact, she had known him for two days before the accident when she asked him for a ride to a job interview. Shortly after the accident, Fitzgerald’s sister wrote a Facebook post that read, in part:
“She was sober, she was clean, she was a good-hearted person and she was taken advantage of. She trusted that guy to give her a ride to her job interview and he ran from the cops and killed her. She didn’t deserve it.”
Earlier this year Hodge filed a federal discrimination suit against the city, arguing he was forced into retirement after the fatal incident. However, he dismissed the suit three months later.
Sources:
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Estate of Woman Killed in Danbury Police Pursuit
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