The Maine Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that the parents of a murder victim cannot sue a former state trooper for failing to prevent their daughter’s death.
The parents of Pamela Webb, who was kidnapped and murdered in July 1989, sued Jeffrey Haas, who was fired from the Maine State Police after admitting that he lied about when he first saw Webb’s truck parked on the Maine Turnpike.
William Fisher, Haas’ lawyer, said the decision “has profound implications for the law enforcement community. . . . If the court had found against Jeffrey Haas, it would have subjected everybody in law enforcement to a lawsuit if they failed to prevent a crime.”
Fisher, who practices in Portland, said that if the justices had permitted the case to go forward, firefighters and emergency medical technicians also would constantly be at risk of lawsuits.
“The civil case attempted to hold him responsible for the abduction and murder of Pamela Webb, ” he said. Fisher acknowledged that Haas “lied when he should have told the truth, but his falsehoods did not play in the abduction and murder.”
He noted that people remain free to sue police officers for outrageous conduct.
Webb was 32 when she disappeared on the night of July 1, 1989. Eighteen days later, her body was found 107 miles away in woods near Franconia, N.H. Her killer has not been found.
On the night of her disappearance, Webb was driving her blue Chevrolet pickup truck to her boyfriend’s house in New Hampshire.
At 11:30 p.m., Haas, who was patrolling the Maine Turnpike, noticed the truck parked on the side of the road near Biddeford.
He did not stop to investigate until some time beween 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
For three months, until he became a suspect in the case, he told officials that the first time he noticed the truck was between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. An arbitrator who upheld Haas’ dismissal wrote that Haas’ lie may have compromised the investigation.
Webb’s parents, Kenneth and Virginia Webb, claimed that if Haas had checked on their daughter’s vehicle the first time he saw it, he may have been able to prevent their daughter’s murder.
The justices disagreed.
“Any conclusion that Haas passed the vehicle when Pamela was present and that his stopping would have prevented her abduction would be based on pure speculation, ” Justice Howard Dana wrote for the court.
The justices also ruled that Haas’ lies and attempts to conceal his misconduct did not violate Kenneth and Virginia Webb’s constitutional right of access to the courts.
“Failing to stop and investigate a disabled truck is not a crime, ” Dana wrote. “It is a violation of state police procedure for which Haas was subject to and received discipline.”
In a prepared statement, the Webbs and their lawyer, David Webbert, said they were “profoundly disappointed by the court decision today.”
They said that “police officers should be protected against frivolous lawsuits, ” but that “justice also requires . . . that the police be held accountable when they engage in serious misconduct that violates the basic civil rights of innocent persons. . . . Haas obstructed the police’s own investigation into Pamela’s murder by repeatedly lying as well as destroying and fabricating evidence.”
Reached at their home in Winthrop on Thursday evening, the Webbs said they have nothing more to say, and that they haven’t decided whether to appeal.
Because the state Supreme Judicial Court has ruled on the matter, the next and only appeal would be to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is not required to accept the case if the Webbs try to appeal.
Haas, now a sergeant with the Gardiner Police Department, said he wept when he heard the decision.
“The Webbs lost a daughter, ” he said. “I lost a career and this is where we are now. I’m just glad it’s over. Somewhat over.”
He said that nearly every day since Webb’s murder, he has second-guessed himself.
“I tend to think, ‘What would have happened if this had never happened? Where would I be professionally?’ Everyone involved in this suffered, and I certainly wasn’t immune to the suffering, but it’s a good relief to finally have vindication.”
He said that “whatever happened or didn’t happen, I can’t change that fact, and that still saddens me. That still upsets me a great deal. But to hold me responsible for it was wrong. It’s just plain wrong.”
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.