The city of Vancouver agreed to pay $775,000 to settle a tort claim filed by a bicyclist who was struck by a police car that ran a red light while responding to an emergency call in 2018.
The bicyclist, Ray Glur, had been riding in the Hudson’s Bay neighborhood just after 5 a.m. on Aug. 27 when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Vancouver police Cpl. Jeremy Free.
Glur, then 64, was transported to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center for treatment of serious but not life-threatening injuries.
The tort claim detailed the injuries Glur suffered in the collision, which included a collapsed lung, a fractured tibia, a concussion, rib fractures, a shoulder fracture, trapped air under the skin and various cuts and abrasions.
The settlement was formalized by the Vancouver City Council on Monday. The claim includes a $725,000 payment to Glur and an additional $50,000 for his wife, Barbara Anderson.
The Columbian obtained the predisposition settlement agreement connected to the case, which states that Glur had been driving west on Evergreen Boulevard while Free was riding south on Grand Boulevard.
Free, who was traveling with two other officers driving in their own police cars, was responding to a call for a submerged vehicle at Marine Park. At the time, the officers didn’t know if the submerged vehicle was occupied.
“Against a red light for his direction of travel, Corporal Free was first to enter the intersection. The Traffic Unit’s investigation states that Corporal Free was responding with his ’emergency lights activated and intermittent siren’ as he entered the intersection of Grand and Evergreen,” the predisposition settlement agreement stated.
All three officers stopped after the collision and rendered aid to Glur while summoning an ambulance to transport him to the hospital.
A subsequent investigation found that Glur, who works for Portland-based architecture firm LRS Architects, had been wearing reflective cycling gear and three lights — two attached to his bike and one attached to his helmet.
Free had been traveling at an estimated speed of 43 mph at the time of the crash, the investigation found. Security footage from a nearby business, obtained by traffic unit investigators, captured the incident.
Red lights
Washington law allows police officers responding to an emergency call to run red lights and stop signs, “but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation.”
“While responding to the above noted call for service, and entering the intersection against a red light, Corporal Free failed to adequately ensure that the intersection was safely clear of all persons and traffic,” the predisposition settlement agreement states.
Following the accident, Free received a one-day suspension from the VPD. He was also required to undergo emergency vehicle operation training.
In the predisposition settlement agreement, Lt. Doug Luse wrote that the modest disciplinary measures stemmed from “the totality of all the information presented.”
“I considered your tenure and rank within the Vancouver Police Department, the fact that you were responding to an emergency call for service, the lack of any previous at-fault accidents in your history, and your memorandum and willingness to take responsibility for your actions,” Luse wrote.
Past incident
Free has been with the Vancouver Police Department since 2003, and he was the subject of an investigation once before. In 2012, Free, then a detective, was arrested and charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer for refusing to cooperate with a search warrant on his cell phone.
Free had previously been pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving and refused to get out of the vehicle, instead sliding over to the passenger’s side.
Officers with the Washougal Police Department issued Free a criminal citation for first-degree negligent driving and obstructing a law enforcement officer, as well as a traffic infraction.
The officers believed the cell phones in Free’s car at the time had recorded the incident and issued a warrant on the phones.
When police arrived at his home to execute the warrant, Free refused to cooperate, resulting in a 45-minute standoff.
Free pleaded guilty to the obstruction charges in 2013 and was sentenced to 10 days of community service and two years of bench probation.
