In the
Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
at Fort Worth
___________________________
No. 02-21-00099-CV
___________________________
CONSTANTINO MEZA, PLUTARCO MEZA, DANIELA MEZA AND
ALEJANDRA MEZA, Appellants
V.
THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 342nd District Court
Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 342-317204-20
Before Kerr, Bassel, and Womack, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Kerr
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellants Constantino Meza and his children Plutarco Meza, Daniela Meza, and
Alejandra Meza appeal from the trial court’s order granting the motion to dismiss for
lack of jurisdiction filed by Appellee the City of Fort Worth. The Mezas sued the City
after Constantino was injured and his wife Guadencia Meza—Plutarco, Daniela, and
Alejandra’s mother—was killed when a speeding pickup truck struck their vehicle. The
driver of that truck, Luis Young III, had fled a traffic stop and was being pursued by a
City police officer. In three issues, the Mezas argue that the trial court erred by granting
the City’s plea to the jurisdiction because the City’s police officer’s conduct waived
immunity for the claims, the City had the notice required under the Texas Tort Claims
Act (TTCA), and a fact issue exists about whether the pursuit and failure to comply
with police-department policies were a cause of the accident. Because the City did not
have notice of the Mezas’ claims, we affirm.
Background
In September 2018, Fort Worth Police Officer Benjamin Wright stopped a white
Ford F-150 on Terminal Road after the truck ran a red light. Wright had been following
the truck since it had left a convenience store a few minutes before because he believed
that a woman named Selena Monrreal was a passenger. Monrreal had been reported by
an apartment-complex employee for burglarizing vehicles in the complex’s parking lot,
and information from witnesses led Wright to believe that Monrreal had left the
complex in the truck.
2
After stopping the truck, Wright approached to speak to its driver. 1 When the
driver opened the door, Wright could smell a marijuana odor coming from inside.
Wright immediately recognized the driver as Young because of Young’s distinctive face
tattoos.2 Wright had recently seen Young’s picture while working on a stolen-and-
recovered-vehicle case in which the vehicle’s owner had blamed Young for the theft.3
When Wright told Young that he recognized him, Young shut the door and drove away.
Wright ran back to his vehicle while radioing dispatch that the truck had fled a traffic
stop, that the truck’s occupants were burglary suspects, and that he thought the driver’s
name was “Luis something”; in the moment, he forgot Young’s last name. Wright did
not convey over the radio that Young was previously known to him. Wright was unable
to follow Young because of traffic, but he saw Young speeding down the wrong side
of Terminal Road and turning southbound onto North Main by driving the wrong way
on a North Main-to-Terminal exit ramp. By the time Wright reached North Main, he
had lost sight of the truck.
Meanwhile, Fort Worth Police Sergeant Martin Chazarreta was nearby, driving
southbound on North Main, when he heard Wright’s radio call about the fleeing truck.
Police later determined that the truck was stolen, but Wright did not have that
1
information at the time of the stop.
Young’s nickname was “Baby Joker.”
2
Fort Worth police also suspected Young of burglarizing a shed.
3
3
Chazarreta almost immediately saw a white Ford F-150 speed on Terminal toward
North Main and then turn onto North Main by driving the wrong way on the exit ramp.
The truck continued driving southbound on North Main at a high speed. After
Chazarreta radioed dispatch that he had the truck in sight and that the truck had three
people in it, he heard Wright state that one of the occupants was possibly a burglary
suspect. Chazarreta did not follow up with Wright to ask if Wright knew more about
Young’s identity or how to find him later. But because of Young’s driving and
Chazarreta’s assumption that “burglary suspect” meant a felony-burglary suspect, 4
Chazarreta decided that the need to stop Young outweighed any risks posed by a
pursuit. Accordingly, he turned on his lights and siren and tried to catch up to the truck,
which was driving at speeds over 90 mph. Young ran another red light, which
Chazarreta slowed down to proceed through. Chazarreta remained one to two blocks
behind the truck and never managed to close the distance between them; by the time
Chazarreta went through the intersection at 28th Street—several blocks away from
Exchange Avenue, where Young would ultimately crash—the truck “was pulling away”
from him.
Not all burglaries are felonies. For example, burglary of a vehicle is a Class A
4
misdemeanor. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 30.04.
4
The pursuit did not last long, ending after approximately 1.8 miles and
72 seconds,5 when Young reached the Exchange Avenue intersection and rear-ended
the Mezas’ Jeep, which was stopped there at a red light. The crash injured Constantino
Meza and killed Guadencia Meza. During the pursuit, Chazarreta drove at an average
speed of 91 mph 6; the pursuit began on a part of North Main with a 40-mph speed
limit, and the area where the crash occurred—a tourist area—had a 30-mph limit.
At the time of the pursuit, the department’s general orders, which contain
department policies and procedures, stated that a vehicle pursuit was justified “when a
suspect exhibits the intent to avoid apprehension by refusing to stop when properly
directed to do so” or if the officer reasonably believed “that the suspect, if allowed to
flee, would present a danger to human life or cause serious injury.” An officer was not
to begin any pursuit that would “create a greater harm to innocent bystanders or
property than is warranted.” In deciding whether to pursue a vehicle, an officer needed
to consider “[p]opulation density,” “vehicle and pedestrian traffic,” the “[s]eriousness
of the offense,” the “[p]resence of other persons in the suspect’s vehicle,” and
“[w]hether or not the offender’s identity is known.” Officers were required to end the
5
Driving down North Main, Young and Chazaretta passed the cross-streets of
38th Street, 37th Street, 36th Street, 35th Street, 34th Street, Long Avenue, 32nd Street,
31st Street, 30th Street, 29th Street, 28th Street, 27th Street, Stockyards Boulevard, and
25th Street before reaching Exchange.
6
The Mezas’ expert calculated that at times Chazaretta was driving over 100 mph.
5
pursuit if the suspect’s vehicle began driving against traffic or “if the suspect’s identity
ha[d] been determined and apprehension at a later date [wa]s feasible.”
After the incident, the department approved revisions to the pursuit policy.
Under the policy before the incident and as revised, a supervisor must write an
administrative pursuit report after any vehicle pursuit and forward that report to the
chain of command for review. In this case, the chain-of-command officers who
reviewed the report determined that the pursuit complied with department policy.
Then-Deputy Chief (now Assistant Chief) Robert Alldredge Jr. further concluded that
the crash would have happened even if Chazarreta had terminated the pursuit at 28th
Street.7
The Mezas sued Young and the City in June 2020 asserting that the defendants’
negligence had caused the crash and the Mezas’ resulting injuries. The Mezas further
alleged that they had complied with any TTCA presuit claim-notification requirements
and that the City had actual notice of the Mezas’ claims. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.
Code Ann. § 101.101(a), (c), 101.021. The City moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction
asserting, among other grounds, that the City had no statutory or actual notice of the
Mezas’ claims as required by TTCA Section 101.101.
Alldredge did not explain why he mentioned 28th Street specifically, but it is
7
around that intersection that the speed limit reduces to 30 mph.
6
The Mezas filed a response but did not produce any evidence that they had
provided the City with the formal statutory notice required by TTCA Section
101.101(a). See id. Instead, the Mezas argued that the police department’s crash
investigation gave the City actual notice under Section 101.101(c). The trial court
granted the City’s motion and dismissed the Mezas’ claims against the City with
prejudice, and the Mezas now appeal. See id. § 51.014(a)(8) (allowing interlocutory appeal
from ruling on plea to jurisdiction); Kosoco, Inc. v. Metro. Transit Auth. of Harris Cnty.,
No. 01-14-00515-CV, 2015 WL 4966880, at *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Aug.
20, 2015, no pet.) (mem. op.) (noting that a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction is
the functional equivalent of a plea to jurisdiction).
Standard of Review
We review a ruling on a plea to the jurisdiction de novo. Univ. of Tex. M.D.
Anderson Cancer Ctr. v. McKenzie, 578 S.W.3d 506, 512 (Tex. 2019). “A jurisdictional plea
may challenge the pleadings, the existence of jurisdictional facts, or both.” Alamo Heights
I.S.D. v. Clark, 544 S.W.3d 755, 770 (Tex. 2018). In reviewing a jurisdictional plea
challenging the pleadings, we determine if the plaintiff has alleged facts affirmatively
demonstrating subject-matter jurisdiction. Id. If, on the other hand, the plea challenges
the existence of jurisdictional facts, we consider evidence as necessary to resolve the
jurisdictional issues. Id. If the evidence raises a jurisdictional fact issue that is intertwined
with the merits, the trial court cannot grant the plea. Worsdale v. City of Killeen, 578 S.W.3d
57, 66 (Tex. 2019). In determining whether a fact issue exists, we must take as true all
7
evidence favorable to the plaintiff, indulging every reasonable inference and resolving
any doubts in the plaintiff’s favor. Clark, 544 S.W.3d at 771. “In doing so, however, we
cannot disregard evidence necessary to show context, and we cannot disregard evidence
and inferences unfavorable to the plaintiff if reasonable jurors could not.” Id.
Discussion
The Mezas’ motion-to-dismiss response relied on the immunity waiver in TTCA
Section 101.021. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 101.021. Accordingly, the
Mezas had to satisfy Section 101.101’s notice requirement. The Mezas assert in their
second issue that the trial court erred by granting the City’s plea to the jurisdiction
because the City did have the required notice. We focus on this issue, which is
dispositive.
I. TTCA’s Notice Requirement
To maintain a claim against a governmental unit 8 under the TTCA, the claimant
must first provide the unit with notice of the claim, and that notice must be given “not
later than six months after the day that the incident giving rise to the claim occurred.”
Id. § 101.101(a); Reyes v. Jefferson Cnty., 601 S.W.3d 795, 798 (Tex. 2020). This formal
notice must reasonably describe the incident in question, the time and place of its
occurrence, and the resulting damage or injury. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann.
The City is a governmental unit under the TTCA. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.
8
Code Ann. § 101.001(3).
8
§ 101.101(a). But no formal notice is required if the government “has actual notice that
death has occurred, that the claimant has received some injury, or that the claimant’s
property has been damaged.” Id. § 101.101(c).
When a person provides formal notice, the government learns that it is or may
be responsible for the person’s injury or property damage and that it might have to
defend against a claim arising from that injury or damage. Id. § 101.101(a). Having this
information allows the government to gather information in order to guard against
unfounded claims, to settle claims, and, if necessary, to prepare for trial. Worsdale,
578 S.W.3d at 63 (citing Cathey v. Booth, 900 S.W.2d 339, 341 (Tex. 1995)). It further
enables the government to protect the public by correcting any condition or policy that
contributed to the incident. Id. at 59. For the government to have actual notice under
Subsection (c), it must have that same knowledge that it would have had if the plaintiff
had provided formal notice under Subsection (a): the basic details about the incident
and knowledge of the government’s alleged fault, in the same manner as ultimately
alleged by the plaintiff, in producing or contributing to the incident. Id. at 63–64; City of
San Antonio v. Tenorio, 543 S.W.3d 772, 776 (Tex. 2018). And, as with formal notice, it
must develop that knowledge within six months of the incident. Reyes, 601 S.W.3d at
796 (citing Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 101.101).
“Fault” in this circumstance means responsibility for the claimed injury, but it is
not synonymous with legal liability. Univ. of Tex. Sw. Med. Ctr. at Dall. v. Est. of Arancibia
ex rel. Vasquez-Arancibia, 324 S.W.3d 544, 550 (Tex. 2010). So, for example, when a
9
government hospital concluded that its employee doctor did not breach the standard
of care and was therefore not negligent in providing medical care to a patient, but it
also recognized that the doctor’s providing that care resulted in the patient’s death, the
government had sufficient awareness of fault regarding the death. Id.; see Worsdale,
578 S.W.3d at 68, 70 (stating that “[t]he critical inquiry is the governmental unit’s actual
anticipation of an alleged claim rather than subjective confirmation of its actual liability”
and that actual notice thus requires information sufficient to “alert the governmental
unit to something impending”); Reyes, 601 S.W.3d at 798 (“The actual-notice standard
does not require proof that the County believed it was liable.” (cleaned up)). “Whether a
governmental unit has actual notice is a fact question when the evidence is disputed,
but it is a question of law when the evidence is undisputed.” Tenorio, 543 S.W.3d at 776.
A court will not conclude that the government knew that it was at fault or knew
that the plaintiff believed it to be—knowledge that courts refer to as having subjective
awareness of fault—from evidence that shows only that the government knew that the
incident had occurred. “Many governmental units may, in the ordinary course of events,
have knowledge of injuries but no warning—‘notice’—that a lawsuit might eventually
be filed alleging the governmental unit was responsible in some way, shape, or form.”
City of Dallas v. Mazzaro, No. 05-20-00103-CV, 2020 WL 6866570, at *5 (Tex. App.—
Dallas Nov. 23, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.) (cleaned up) (quoting Worsdale, 578 S.W.3d
at 72). Nor is subjective awareness shown with evidence that the government
investigated the incident and uncovered information that, to an outside observer,
10
indicates that the government was at fault: “It is not enough that a governmental unit
should have investigated an incident as a prudent person would have, or that it did
investigate, perhaps as part of routine safety procedures, or that it should have known
from the investigation it conducted that it might have been at fault.” Tex. Dep’t of Crim.
Just. v. Simons, 140 S.W.3d 338, 347–48 (Tex. 2004). That is, “the proper inquiry is not
whether the City should have made the connection between [the plaintiff’s] injury and
[the City’s] responsibility as alleged, but whether the City made the connection or had
knowledge that the connection had been made.” City of Houston v. Miller, No. 01-19-
00450-CV, 2019 WL 7341666, at *6 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Dec. 31, 2019, no
pet.) (mem. op.) (quoting Worsdale, 578 S.W.3d at 66). If the government does not have
that specific knowledge, the government does not have subjective awareness of fault
and therefore does not have actual notice to satisfy Section 101.101(c). See Ortegren v.
City of Denton, No. 2-05-177-CV, 2006 WL 495387, at *5 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Mar.
2, 2006, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (holding no actual notice of plaintiff’s claim that drop-
off next to road had caused car accident despite county official’s investigating accident
and concluding that drop-off was a hazard that should be ameliorated because evidence
showed that investigator did not believe drop-off caused the accident).
Examples of when the government “made the connection or had knowledge that
the connection had been made” are seen in Reyes and Worsdale. In Reyes, Reyes’s
attorney’s correspondence with the county’s claims administrator provided the basic
details about an incident—what incident occurred on what date, who was involved, and
11
that injury resulted—and expressed the attorney’s desire to work with the administrator
toward “a quick and amicable resolution of this claim.” Reyes, 601 S.W.3d at 796. The
administrator then acknowledged, investigated, and denied Reyes’s claim. Id. at 798. The
county had all the information to which it would have been entitled from formal notice,
including the fact that Reyes was claiming that the county was at fault in the manner he
later alleged in his lawsuit. Id.
Similarly, in Worsdale, the city’s own investigation gave it the same knowledge
that formal notice would have imparted. Worsdale involved a suit alleging that a city
road’s conditions had caused a motorcycle accident that resulted in two deaths.
578 S.W.3d at 60. The jurisdictional evidence showed that within days of the accident,
the city had investigated, concluded that road conditions had contributed to the
accident, and—crucially—determined that the road’s maintenance had been the city’s
responsibility. Id. at 66–67. Accordingly, from the city’s investigation, it knew that its
own failure to maintain the road had contributed to the motorcyclists’ deaths. Id. at 59.
As these two cases demonstrate, when the government has subjective knowledge
of its fault in the same manner alleged by the plaintiff—either because the plaintiff had
made an allegation of fault against the government within the requisite time frame or
because the government itself recognized its fault—formal notice is superfluous. See,
e.g., Arancibia, 324 S.W.3d at 550.
12
II. The Mezas’ Allegation of Fault
The City produced affidavit evidence that it had not received formal notice of
the Mezas’ claims until it received the petition more than 21 months after the incident,
and the Mezas presented no evidence to dispute this fact. Consequently, the trial court
has jurisdiction over the Mezas’ suit only if the City learned on its own of its potential
fault. 9
We conduct our actual-notice analysis by first discerning what the Mezas alleged
the City’s fault to be in causing the crash and then considering whether the jurisdictional
evidence indicates that the City knew it was potentially at fault in the manner alleged by
the Mezas. The Mezas’ claims against the City are all based on the premise that the crash
occurred, at least in part, because Chazarreta initiated and continued the pursuit. First,
they alleged that the crash would not have occurred but for Young’s and Chazarreta’s
reckless driving. Then—because regardless of how he was driving, Chazarreta did not
actually hit the Mezas’ Jeep and was still several blocks from the intersection at the time
of the crash—they linked his driving to the crash by pleading that his pursuit had caused
Young to drive recklessly toward their vehicle. They specifically alleged that Young
Because “[n]otice can be imputed to the City by an agent or representative who
9
has a duty to gather facts and investigate,” we assume for this opinion that if the police-
department officers who reviewed the pursuit or investigated the crash had sufficient
awareness of fault, so too did the City. See City of Houston v. McGowen, No. 14-13-00415-
CV, 2014 WL 2039856, at *7 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] May 15, 2014, no pet.)
(mem. op.).
13
“was not a danger to society at large until he fled the scene of the traffic stop and was
chased into a crowded tourist destination by [Chazarreta] at ridiculously high speeds
(approaching 100 mph).” They further contended that because Wright knew Young’s
identity, Chazarreta violated the department’s policy by not terminating the pursuit.
And they pleaded that the City “was also negligent for failing to implement and enforce
proper policies and procedures for high-speed pursuit and failing to properly train and
supervise its officers in connection with such chases.”
Based on these allegations, we look to the record to see if the City knew that
Chazarreta’s pursuing Young potentially put it at fault for the crash. We consider the
relevant documents attached to the City’s dismissal motion, including affidavits from
Chazarreta, Wright, and Alldredge, as well as the police department’s vehicle-pursuit
report regarding the incident. We also consider the Mezas’ response evidence, which
included the police department’s crash report; an incident-detail report; the
department’s pursuit policies at the time of the incident and as later revised; deposition
testimony from Wright, Chazarreta, and Alldredge; and an expert affidavit.
III. The Relevant Evidence
In Alldredge’s affidavit, he stated, “Neither I, nor any other officer down my
chain of command, ever believed—or indicated to me a belief—that any member of
the Fort Worth Police Department did something wrong with regard to the pursuit of
Luis Young III or that the Department might in any way have been at fault for Young’s
collision.” In his deposition, Alldredge acknowledged that when the pursuit occurred,
14
the department’s pursuit policy stated that whether the offender’s identity is known is
a factor an officer must consider in deciding whether to start a pursuit and that “[a]
pursuit shall be terminated if the suspect’s identity has been determined and
apprehension at a later date is feasible.” Alldredge acknowledged that Wright had failed
to communicate to Chazarreta that he knew Young’s full name and identity. But
Alldredge also stated that he believed the pursuit might have happened even if Wright
had done so because of how Young was driving. Chazarreta’s deposition testimony
supported Alldredge’s opinion: he stated that although his decision to pursue Young
might have been different if he had known that Wright knew Young’s identity, he could
not say one way or the other. He further explained, “But I was also concerned of the
speed [that Young] was going. He’s now a danger to everybody on the road. . . . I just
wanted him to stop.”
The pursuit report contained the findings of Alldredge, Commander Pedro
Criado, and other chain-of-command officers. Each officer in the chain of command
determined that the pursuit was justified and within the department’s policy. Criado
stated that he agreed with the others that the pursuit was “lawful and within the realms
of our pursuit policy,” but he believed “that this is a good opportunity to debrief the
short pursuit, our current pursuit policy as well as quickly evolving incidents with all
personnel.” Other than that, he “recommend[ed] no further action.” In response to
another officer’s comments, he further stated that although the pursuit was “lawful”
with “no violations noted,” he had met with Chazarreta “on at least three different
15
occasions to check on his well being and to discuss the pros and cons to continuing or
terminating pursuits in the future.” Criado explained that he told Chazarreta to “always
weigh the risk involved when making a determination on continuing pursuits and if
unsure of details to terminate the pursuit in the future. Also, Captain Krouse was
instructed to meet with all current Sergeants/Lt’s in order to discuss the same.” He then
concluded, “I recommend no further action.”
Alldredge concurred, stating that “this pursuit was within our policies and
procedures.” He further stated, “One thing that stood out to me during this review is
that I believe the outcome would have been the same even if Sergeant Chazarreta would
have discontinued the pursuit at 28th Street” given that Young’s truck “was travelling
at a very high rate of speed and had no intention of slowing down even though there
was 1.5-2 block distance between the suspect and police vehicle.” He nevertheless
concurred with the other reviewers about “the additional training and meetings the
chain of command had not only with Sergeant Chazarreta but with all supervisors. . . .
Besides the above listed corrective actions, I recommend no further action for this
incident.” Sergeant Gomez, who wrote the report that was forwarded to the chain of
command, stated that because the pursuit was over so quickly, not knowing who the
people were, or what crimes had just been committed “coupled with the stress and
adrenaline dumps that Sergeant Chazaretta was experiencing because he was the lead
unit,” he did not believe that Chazaretta had sufficient time to decide whether the
pursuit should be terminated.
16
The incident-detail report provided the incident location, identified which
officers arrived at the scene and when, and described the incident’s “problem” as a
“traffic violation.” The report included some comments from officers who responded
to the scene, including one who described smelling alcohol on Young’s breath and
person.
In April 2019, the police chief approved revisions to the general orders governing
vehicle pursuits. Not all changed sections were implicated by the pursuit in this case.
Of relevance to the Mezas’ arguments on appeal, the policy now states that a traffic
violation does not justify a pursuit, and neither does suspicion that a vehicle is stolen.
To the section stating that a pursuit must end if the suspect’s identity has been
determined and later apprehension is feasible was added the parenthetical “(i.e., license
plate has a valid return).”10 The revised version still states that a pursuit may be justified
“if the officer reasonably believes that the suspect, if allowed to flee, would present a
danger to human life or cause serious injury.”
In his deposition, Alldredge discounted the idea that the crash prompted the
policy change. He said the change did not go into effect until October 2019 and opined
Even in that case, however, a pursuit could be authorized if the person being
10
pursued is fleeing from a violent felony.
17
that the change would have become effective sooner if the crash had been its impetus.11
He further explained that he had been a part of revising the policy and that the
department had been discussing updating the policy even before the pursuit happened.
The Mezas’ expert pointed out that Chazarreta’s pursuit decision was based on
assumptions rather than facts and that he never bothered to confirm whether his
assumptions were correct. The expert opined that Chazaretta’s actions in initiating and
continuing the pursuit and in driving as he did in a 30-mph zone were so unreasonable
and dangerous that no reasonable police officer would have taken them.
IV. Insufficient Evidence of Notice
The City’s awareness that the crash happened during a police pursuit is not
enough to show subjective awareness. See Tenorio, 543 S.W.3d at 778. The Mezas argue,
however, that the evidence shows more than that; they argue that the evidence at least
raises a fact issue about whether the City was aware that the pursuit should not have
occurred. We disagree, but even if the evidence did raise a fact issue about whether the
pursuit was against policy, that alone is not enough to show that the City knew it was
at fault in the manner the Mezas alleged. To show actual notice, the evidence must raise
a fact issue about whether the City was aware that the pursuit was at least part of what
11
The revision was approved by the police chief on April 24, 2019 and states that
it “shall be effective immediately,” but Alldredge was not asked about the discrepancy
between that language and his testimony that it went into effect in October.
18
led Young—the person whose vehicle actually struck the Mezas’ Jeep—to drive in the
manner and direction that he did. The evidence does not raise such a fact issue.
Even before the traffic stop, Young showed his willingness to disregard traffic
laws when he ran a red light. Then, to flee Wright’s stop, he drove on the wrong side
of the road, drove the wrong way on an exit ramp to turn onto North Main, and then
began speeding down North Main—in the direction of the North Main–Exchange
intersection at which he would hit the Mezas’ Jeep—all before Chazaretta’s pursuit even
began. Young’s driving was, in fact, partially why Chazaretta pursued him. There is no
evidence to show that the City believed that Young would have stopped speeding and
violating traffic laws or would have driven in a different direction if the pursuit had not
been initiated or had been terminated earlier. Although the Mezas argue that the pursuit
report “demonstrates a subjective understanding that the [department]’s conduct
related to this crash could subject the City to liability,” the report does not reflect such
an understanding. The only related evidence is Alldredge’s stated belief that Young “had
no intention of slowing down” and that if the pursuit had terminated at 28th Street, the
crash still would have happened.12 Thus, to the extent that the chain of command even
12
Our opinion should not be construed as holding that a plaintiff can never show
actual notice when the governmental unit has included in an investigation report a self-
serving statement absolving it of fault. Other jurisdictional evidence may show that the
governmental unit actually knew about its potential responsibility and thereby create a
fact issue on the question. But the record here simply does not show the City had the
requisite knowledge.
19
considered the City’s fault in the crash, Alldredge concluded that the pursuit was not a
cause. We therefore cannot say that the pursuit report raises a fact issue about whether
the City had subjective awareness that, as the Mezas alleged in their petition, the crash
occurred because of the pursuit. If the police department’s chain of command secretly
concluded that the pursuit violated policies and that the pursuit contributed to the
accident, nothing in the record reveals that fact.
The Mezas contend, however, that the pursuit report shows subjective awareness
through the use of the phrase “corrective actions” to describe the recommendation that
personnel be reminded about the department’s policy on pursuits. The Mezas direct us
to (a) the report sections in which Criado wrote that he “believe[d] this is a good
opportunity to debrief the short pursuit, our current pursuit policy as well as quickly
evolving incidents with all personnel,” that he met with Chazarreta and apprised him
“to always weigh the risk involved when making a determination on continuing pursuits
and if unsure of details to terminate the pursuit in the future,” and that he instructed
another officer “to meet with all current Sergeants/Lts in order to discuss the same”;
and to (b) Alldredge’s statement in the report that he “agree[d] with the additional
training and meetings the chain of command had not only with Sergeant Chazarreta,
but with all supervisors in the Division,” that “Supervisors must always weigh the risk
versus reward, know the population density of specific areas and vehicular/pedestrian
traffic in the area,” and that, “[b]esides the above listed corrective actions, [he]
recommend[ed] no further actions for this incident.” The Mezas assert that “[t]hese
20
comments, all written within 2 months of the Crash, indicate the City’s intention to take
‘corrective actions’ after and because of this pursuit and crash.” In other words, the
Mezas interpret the “corrective actions” wording to mean that Criado and Alldredge
had concluded that Chazarreta’s pursuit was a policy violation for which corrective
action had to be taken. They further argue that “[t]he purpose of the [notice] statute—
to enable governmental units to gather information—was fulfilled,” and that the City
therefore received the notice to which it was entitled, because although “the existence
of the investigation by itself is not necessarily dispositive of notice, the conclusion that
the involved officer needed remedial or refresher training indicates potential
responsibility on behalf of the governmental unit that can and often does create a fact
issue of actual notice.”
But what these report sections do not show is the City’s awareness that it was
the pursuit that caused Young to drive recklessly toward the Mesas’ Jeep. 13 Nothing in
the report shows an awareness that the pursuit contributed to the crash, even if the
pursuit did violate policy.14 See Town of Highland Park v. McCullers, No. 05-19-01431-CV,
To the extent the Mezas’ petition can be read to allege that Chazarreta’s high-
13
speed driving contributed to the accident regardless of whether the pursuit had any
effect on Young’s driving, there is no evidence that the City believed it was at fault in
that manner.
14
Further, we do not agree that the phrase “corrective actions” or the chain of
command’s recommendation that officers be reminded of the pursuit policy indicates
a finding that the pursuit violated policy. Those statements must be read in context with
the rest of Criado’s and Alldredge’s conclusions, including their express determination
21
2021 WL 2766390, at *9 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 29, 2021, no pet.) (noting that the
town made no statements attributing a police officer’s death or injuries to the town’s
conduct or omission). Although in another case it might be obvious that a pursuit
prompted a suspect’s reckless driving, that is not the case here, given Young’s
prepursuit driving.
Regarding the Mezas’ argument that the pursuit actually did violate department
policy regardless of what the department believed—essentially arguing that the
department should have known that the pursuit was wrongful—even if the Mezas are
correct, the evidence still does not show subjective awareness. What a governmental
unit should have known is not the proper inquiry for actual notice. Worsdale, 578 S.W.3d
at 63–64.
The Mezas also rely on the fact that the pursuit policy changed after the incident.
The Mezas are correct that subsequent remedial measures can be evidence of subjective
awareness. See id. at 68; see also City of El Paso v. Lopez, 594 S.W.3d 715, 720–21 (Tex.
App.—El Paso 2019, no pet.) (holding that, in a case in which the city investigated,
determined that road conditions were contributing factors to the incident, and then
remediated the hazardous road conditions, the city’s remediating actions demonstrated
that the pursuit did not violate the policy. The general tone of the report reflects
Alldredge’s affidavit statement that his using the phrase “corrective actions” “should
not be construed to indicate a belief or even a suspicion that Sergeant Chazarreta did
anything wrong or that the decisions or actions of any Department personnel were
somehow at fault for the traffic accident that ultimately occurred.”
22
an actual anticipation of the appellee’s claim). The Mezas also point out that the
department’s incident-detail report describes the incident “problem” as a “traffic
violation” and that under the revised pursuit policy, pursuits are not authorized for
traffic violations alone.
But the policy change here does not show that the department believed that the
pursuit was wrongful or that it contributed to the crash. The evidence regarding
Chazarreta’s motivation in pursuing Young was that he believed that Young was a
burglary suspect and that Young’s driving not only violated traffic laws but constituted
a danger to the public, and thus Chazarreta’s pursuit would not have violated a policy
that prohibited pursuits based solely on traffic violations. In other words, as with the
other record evidence, the policy change is not enough to show subjective awareness
of fault, even if the evidence suggests that the department should have concluded that the
pursuit violated policy or contributed to the accident. See Doe v. City of Dallas, No. 05-
18-00771-CV, 2019 WL 2559755, at *3 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 21, 2019, pet. denied)
(mem. op.) (“Whether the cumulative evidence at least implies the City was responsible
for the injury is not [the] inquiry we make.”).
The Mezas also argue that the City “ignores the fact that their own police
investigation concluded that ‘fleeing or evading arrest’ was one of the factors that
caused the accident.” The Mezas cite the crash report’s statement that Young had been
charged with “evading arrest/detention causing death.” We disagree that this report
statement indicates that the department found that a wrongful pursuit by Chazarreta
23
was a cause of the crash. Young undisputedly sped and violated traffic laws to evade
arrest or detention by Wright, but nothing shows that the department believed that
Young was driving as he did down North Main because Chazarreta was pursuing him15
in violation of department policy.
In summary, we do not determine whether it was reasonable for the City to
conclude that the pursuit did not violate policy, and neither do we determine whether
the evidence supports a belief that Young would not have driven the way he did without
the pursuit. Instead, the relevant inquiry is whether the City either had information that
led it to believe that a pursuit that violated department policy was potentially the cause,
or at least a cause, of Young’s driving or knew that the Mezas believed that to be the
case, such that the City could anticipate the Mezas’ filing suit. The only evidence in the
record about the City’s belief on that point was that the department had concluded that
the pursuit was within policy guidelines and that Alldredge believed that the pursuit did
not cause Young to drive recklessly into the Exchange intersection. No evidence
suggests that the City had subjective awareness that the pursuit contributed to Young’s
15
The only evidence explicitly mentioning whether Young even knew that he was
being pursued was Chazarreta’s deposition testimony in which he agreed that he did
not know what would have happened if he had backed off earlier in the pursuit but
then stated that he did not know if Young “knew [he] was behind him [because he] was
so far back. . . . And [Young] may have been running just to run.”
24
decision to drive as he did or to the crash.16 See Tenorio, 543 S.W.3d at 778 (“[N]othing
in the crash report, witness statements, or case report indicate, either expressly or
impliedly, that the [police department] subjectively believed its officers acted in error
by initiating or continuing the pursuit such that they were in some manner responsible
for the injuries.”); Ortegren, 2006 WL 495387, at *5 (holding that the subjective-
knowledge standard was not met regardless of whether the government’s investigator
should have reached a different conclusion about the cause of the incident).
Consequently, the record does not raise a fact issue about whether the City had
subjective awareness of fault and therefore does not raise a fact issue about whether the
City had actual notice.
Because the City did not have formal or actual notice of the Mezas’ claims, the
trial court did not have jurisdiction over the claims. We overrule the Mezas’ second
issue. Because the second issue is dispositive, we do not reach their remaining issues.
Conclusion
Having overruled the Mezas’ second issue, which is dispositive, we affirm the
trial court’s dismissal order.
16
Actual notice does not require the government to unconditionally confess fault.
Arancibia, 324 S.W.3d at 550. Thus, determining that the City had actual notice here
would not require the City to have expressly admitted that the pursuit was wrongful
and was the cause of Young’s dangerous driving and of the crash. But there must be
some indication in the record that the City had determined that it was at least potentially
at fault. We do not have any evidence of that here.
25
/s/ Elizabeth Kerr
Elizabeth Kerr
Justice
Delivered: March 3, 2022
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