Crime & Safety
Child's Death In Police Chase Leads To Lawsuit Against Departments, County
The estate of a 3-year-old killed during a police pursuit of a suspect in another vehicle has filed a lawsuit against 2 police departments.
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A lawsuit has been filed by the estate of 3-year-old Zoey Harrison against two police departments, Prince George's County and the man who police were chasing the day Zoey died.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Prince George’s County Circuit Court and was served to both the Capitol Heights and District Heights police departments, as well as 40-year-old Larry Naylor, who is accused of fleeing from police after he was stopped for a missing license plate in May.
Earlier this year, Naylor was indicted by a Prince George’s County grand jury on several counts related to the incident, including felony negligent manslaughter, WUSA reported.
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He’s due to go on trial on criminal charges next year, according to WTOP.
“This lawsuit is about accountability and public safety,” said Terence Davis of Morgan and Morgan, who is representing Zoey Harrison’s family in this lawsuit. “The officers initiated a high-speed chase in pursuit over a missing tag … a low level traffic issue — through heavy traffic that chose to create a completely foreseeable danger to innocent drivers, and it cost a child her life. We’re alleging negligence, failures in training and supervision, in violation of established pursuit safety standards.”
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Prince George’s County has been named in the lawsuit because Capitol Heights and District Heights are municipalities in the county, and because the county’s police academy helps train officers from those departments, WTOP reported.
After Zoey's death, the county council passed what’s known as Zoey’s Law last month. It aims to bring municipal departments in line with the county police department’s pursuit policies.
“Zoey was a bright, joyful, 3-year-old girl who had her whole life in front of her. She was full of energy. Loved being with her mother, and she was one of the kind of children who lighted it up in every room that she walked in. Her life was taken far too soon and in a way that was completely preventable,” Davis told WTOP.
The lawsuit asks for damages exceeding $75,000, the highest number that can be listed in this type of lawsuit, WJLA said.
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