Dueling lawsuits filed over Rhode Island crash involving police car

By Jim Greene

Published on November 02, 2005

Officer Arthur Burton, whose patrol car struck an SUV as it was turning left in front of his patrol car on March 25, is suing Laura White, the driver of the SUV, her passenger Donna Welch, and the women's husbands, Jeffrey White and Michael Welch.

According to court documents, Burton was driving 50 mph in a 25-mph zone while responding to a call to assist another officer with a traffic stop.

Donna Welch's suit, filed in July, charges the Whites, Burton, and the Westerly Police Department with negligence, and Westerly Police Chief Edward Mello with negligent entrustment for letting Burton drive a police car in spite of having been reprimanded for prior incidents of bad driving. The town manager and town council are charged with vicarious liability. The suit claims that White breached her duty to yield to an emergency vehicle, and that Burton failed in his duty to drive with proper regard for public safety.

In September, the Whites filed suit against Burton, the town, the police department, and Chief Mello.

Burton's suit countered that he was driving with proper regard for public safety, and that Laura White was driving under the influence of alcohol and was unable to properly react to the situation.

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