Family of innocent bystander killed during Gresham police chase files $17M lawsuit

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – The family of an innocent woman killed during a Gresham police chase in June has filed a federal lawsuit for millions in damages.

The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 25, claims Officer Jonathan Buck performed a high speed chase of a 2004 Silver Buick Regal Limited he believed was a robbery suspect’s vehicle on the evening of June 25. After chasing the car for more than a mile, the car crashed into another car with Jennifer Parise, 40, and her husband inside, according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Parise was stopped at an intersection near NE Glisan Street and 148th Avenue while driving home from the grocery store when the driver of the Buick Regal “lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the rear end of the Parises’ car.”

The impact of the crash caused Parise’s car, a Blue Toyota Yaris, to “lift off the road, crash down back onto the road, then spin around in the roadway before stopping facing Eastbound in the north side bike lane of Glisan,” the lawsuit said.

Emergency responders cut the couple from the “severely crushed” car. But according to the lawsuit, Parise lost a pulse on the way to the hospital where she was eventually pronounced dead. Her husband had also been taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

An investigation found Officer Buck had followed the wrong vehicle, and the driver of the car was not involved in the previously associated robbery, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Officer Buck’s actions led to Parise’s death because he failed to follow the Gresham Police Department’s protocol. By not turning on his body camera and chasing a car at dangerously high speeds through intersections, the lawsuit claims he had put bystanders at risk and neglected his duties as an officer.

“A law enforcement officer exercising reasonable care would know, or should know, that a person who has failed to obey the law regarding traffic stops, has attempted to flee a traffic stop, and who evades pursuit by law enforcement in violation of the law is likely to persist in the evasion of pursuit by law enforcement,” the lawsuit alleges.

In response, the Parise family is seeking $17 million from the City of Gresham and Officer Buck to compensate for their injuries, emotional distress and economic damages.

The City of Gresham declined KOIN 6 News’ request for comment due to ongoing litigation.

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