Fessler v. R.E.J. Inc.

Plaintiffs in this consolidated appeal brought separate actions on behalf of the decedents, Barbara Fessler and Stanton Smith. Several defendants were named in each action, including the city of Jersey-ville (city) and one of its police officers, Sergeant Ralph Pickett.

Plaintiffs alleged local law enforcement agencies on July 7, 1984, received several citizen complaints concerning erratic driving behavior exhibited by a pickup truck on Illinois Route 267 leading to Jersey-ville. In response, the city dispatched Sergeant Pickett, who encountered the track and its two occupants in a parking lot…