Jojola v. APD (case settled before
suit was filed).
On January 27, 2000, Manoa Jojola, a gifted
high school senior, was killed when city police chased a car
90 miles an hour down the interstate. After leaving the
interstate, the car ran a stoplight and T-boned Manoa's
truck. The chase began without any evidence that the fleeing
car's occupants had committed any crime. As part of our
settlement agreement, the Albuquerque Police Department
agreed to immediately investigate all future high speed
chases and to allow Manoa's parents to participate in the
creation of a police-training video to inform
officers-in-training about the devastating effects of making
a fatal and wrongful decision to engage in a high speed
pursuit on busy Albuquerque streets without cause. Manoa's
incredible parents are pursuing legislation to help prevent
this from happening in the future.
Past successes cannot be an assurance of
future success because each case must be decided on its own
merits.