The California Department of Corrections was restored as a defendant by the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three.
The Jan. 9 ruling established that Michael Becker’s actions that led to a fatal crash in the morning of Aug. 1, 2018, could have been within the course of his work as a peace officer.
According to the appellate ruling, Becker was driving to work at the California Institute for Men that morning, where he worked as a guard in the culinary unit. Becker was wearing his CDCR uniform, and was carrying a .40 caliber Glock handgun. He was authorized as a peace officer to carry one during off-hours, but his gun was not provided by the CDCR.
Becker stopped off at an AM/PM gas station in Yucaipa, where he saw D’son Woods and Woods’ father, Glenn Bolden. Becker claimed Woods looked suspect, but was unable to recall during his deposition what triggered his suspicion. Becker claims Woods shouted derogatory comments at him as Woods left the gas station.
Becker caught up to Woods by car and ultimately pursued him in excess of 100 miles per hour. The Court of Appeal said it is undisputed that Becker brandished his handgun at Woods and Bolden during the chase. Becker claimed Woods did not have a license plate, and said he was following him to identify it and get Woods apprehended.
When the I-10 westbound transferred to the I-215 southbound, Woods’ car knocked over a light pole, went down an embankment, hit a tree and caught on fire. Bolden’s later complaint said that the accident was caused by Woods swerving in response to the gun.
Bolden was able to get out. Woods suffered burns. The crash caused Woods’ death a year later, the ruling said.
Becker was charged with a felony count of reckless driving, two felony counts of exhibiting a firearm in a car, and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. He pleaded no contest to the reckless driving charge, and was sentenced to six months in county jail and three years of supervised probation.
Bolden and Gwendolyn Adams, Woods’ mother, sued Becker and the CDCR Dec. 6, 2018.
They argued that Becker was acting in his official capacity as a CDCR employee, and within the scope of his employment, when he started the chase.
The CDCR asked San Bernardino Superior Judge Bryan Foster to throw the case out. They argued that “(t)he undisputed facts show that Becker was not acting in the course and scope of his employment as a correctional officer at the time of the road rage incident on Aug. 1, 2018, nor is the incident related to CDCR’s operation of state prisons.”
Foster agreed.
The Court of Appeal, however, found that whether he was within the scope of his employment was to be determined by the jury.
Since 1981, the California Attorney General has held that peace officers have a wider scope of duty than most jobs, the Court of Appeal said.
“The Attorney General’s opinion reflects that peace officer authority is not limited to an officer’s ‘primary’ duties described in Penal Code Section 830.2; that authority includes other powers such as those incident to arrest set forth in Penal Code Section 836. Section 830.2 does not preclude a jury from concluding that Becker was a peace officer, or that he was acting in his law enforcement capacity when he pursued Woods and Bolden,” they wrote.
The ruling also said that Becker’s uniform could have led Woods and Bolden to believe he was acting under the course of his employment.
“The factual conflict created by this testimony could not be resolved by the trial court as a matter of law in the context of a motion for summary judgment. It was for the trier of fact to resolve whether Woods or Bolden, or both, knew or believed Becker was a peace officer,” they wrote.
Case information
Case No. CIVDS1831184
Appellate Case No. G062782
Justice Thomas Goethals wrote the opinion, which Justices Eileen Moore and Joanne Motoike joined.
Federico Syre and Peter Williamson of Adamson Ahdoot LLP represented Bolden and Adams.
Attorney General Rob Bonta, Acting Assistant Attorney General Pamela J. Holmes, Deputy Attorneys General Elizabeth S. Angres and Mark A. Brown represented the CDCR.
Read the complaint here.
Read the ruling here.
