Onossian

On the evening of August 17, 1991, Scott Reed passed defendant Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputies Finn and Yates in his hardtop Oldsmobile “muscle car,” moving in and out of traffic at about 60 miles per hour on busy Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Finn and Yates followed Reed, who continued to drive erratically and recklessly. Finn, who was driving the patrol car, turned on his siren and lights, and gave chase. Rather than stopping, Reed attempted to elude Finn and Yates, maintaining speeds of up to 60 or 70 miles an hour.

Defendant deputy Thomas, who was monitoring the chase on his patrol car radio, saw Reed’s Oldsmobile run a red light on Melrose Avenue. Finn and Yates had not been able to keep up with Reed, so Thomas took up the pursuit. Three or four seconds later, Reed crashed into the Onossians’ vehicle. The entire pursuit lasted about a minute. The deputies’ speeds in the two patrol cars never exceeded 45 miles per hour. The closest either car came to Reed’s car was a distance of 100 yards.

*1171 The Onossians were severely, injured. They sued Finn, Yates, Thomas, and various Los Angeles County officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , seeking damages for violation…