Damages awarded to cop rammed while in cruiser

Victoria Times Colonist, April 19, 2005

A Vancouver cop has been awarded damages for the emotional impact of being in a cruiser that was rammed by a stolen vehicle.
“This is a first time that aggravated damages have been awarded in this sort of case,” said John Cameron, a Vancouver cop turned lawyer. Aggravated damages recognize the emotional impact of an incident.
Cameron represents Vancouver cop Franco Iachetta who was in a police cruiser struck by a stolen vehicle in the West End in December 2001.
Iachetta was saved by an air-bag and was back at work soon after the incident. However, the emotional impact of the crash began taking a toll, leading Iachetta to pursue the driver of the stolen vehicle, Antonio Ioannone, through the Supreme Court of B.C.
“There’s a dramatic increase in people’s willingness to ram police cars in an effort to flee without any concern for the safety of others,” said Cameron, who hopes the award will help stop the rampage.
Recent examples of police cruisers being hit by other vehicles include:

• On Sunday, a motorcyclist struck a cruiser being driven by a Surrey Mountie. Both the motorcyclist and the officer were injured.
• On April 13, a stolen vehicle struck three police cars in Surrey and Vancouver.
• In late March, a man in a stolen vehicle rammed a Vancouver police cruiser head-on. The two officers suffered back injuries in the collision.

Justice Williamson awarded Iachetta $17,500 damages.