Smeltz v. Harrisburg

Opinion by

Mr. Chief Justice Bell,

Naomi S. Livingston, formerly Naomi S. Smeltz, is the widow of Gerald J. Smeltz and the administratrix of his estate. Naomi Livingston instituted suit in trespass under the wrongful death and survival acts against Robert H. Copeland, a police officer in the City of Harrisburg, and against the City of Harrisburg itself. The complaint alleges that, while acting in the scope of his employment as a member of the Police Department, defendant Copeland negligently and carelessly shot and killed the decedent, Gerald J. Smeltz, during the course of a “stake-out.”

The…