Transportation and Vehicle Safety: accident involving police officer, internal affairs investigation, incident occured

Question
Good Morning.
My husband and son were involved in an accident with a police officer.
My husband was taking a right hand turn, onto a one-way 2 lane street. The police officer was proceeding the wrong way down the one-way street with it's lights on but no siren.
After my husband yielded to traffic, to take his turn, the officer side-swiped him, hitting the driver's side front bumper.
There were no tickets issued.
We filed a claim to the City of Tucson, AZ to pay for the damages, as we felt it was clearly not my husbands fault.
This is their response...
"We have completed our investigation into the claim you recently filed against the city of Tucson.
We find no negligence or liability on the part of the City. Specifically, according to the internal affairs investigation and information secured from the TPD legal advisors office, this incident occured while the officer was proceeding to a call and other officers who witnessed the incident indicate that you failed to come to a complete stop and yield to the officer. Thus, based on the above facts we must respectfully deny your claim."
As far as we know, there were no other officers to 'witness' this accident.
What I was wondering is if we have any legal recourse in this matter?

Answer
Welcome Aevya to AllExperts!

Your question is actually quite common..... And I will try to first play devils advocate for the city and their policing agency, and then defending your interests if that is ok....

DEFENSE FOR THE CITY

The city was correct in stating that you as a driver must come to a complete stop, must ensure the turn can be safely made and must yield to on-coming vehicles.... Especially emergency vehicles displaying emergency light(s) or emergency lights(s) and siren.

This then presupposes that your husband violated those Vehicle Code sections, and that they have witnesses who have on-viewed the accident, establishing credibility for the officer.

The officer is allowed under some circumstances to be excluded from many vehicle code sections if they are in pursuit, traveling Code-3 to an emergency, request for an expedited response, assisting another officer in need of help, or investigation of an criminal offense in progress (to name a few).

While they have this exclusion, the 'Due Regard' law states that they may not operate their vehicle in a manner that places other motorists or citizens in actual danger.

Also, all motorists must be able to see their emergency light(s) or see their emergency light(s) and hear their siren, and be given sufficient time to properly respond safely.

YOUR DEFENSE

According to your statement, there were no other witnesses present. I would certainly ascertain if the listed witnesses (police report) were really there and in a position to see the entire event.

When your husband yielded to traffic, did he see the police vehicle and the emergency light(s)? .... If so, you had a legal requirement to remain where you were or move away from the problem safely, allowing the officer to negotiate their way through the intersection.

If he did not see the emergency light(s) and believed it was safe to negotiate the turn, then I would feel your husbands actions were not at fault.

Lastly, was the officers speed, control of his/her vehicle, or position/proximity of the car so fast, erratic and dangerous that it was clearly unsafe to operate under those conditions?

These are some of the many questions needing to be asked. The city and their policing agency should have taken these into account and may have not have rendered a correct decision. Usually, a department accident is investigating by an outside agency to avoid all questions of collusion or bias.

You can always appeal there decision by submitting your request to the City Mayor's Office or City Council, or Police Review Board if one exists.

I hope this has helped!

Have a great day.... And I hope your husband and son are OK.

Terry