St. John v. Reid

WOOD, J.

Defendants Reid and Smith appeal from a judgment entered against them upon the return of a jury’s verdict awarding plaintiff damages for personal injuries suffered when he was struck by buckshot discharged from a shotgun carried by defendant Reid while acting as a special police officer guarding the funds of defendant Smith.

Defendant Smith operated ten markets in and about the city of Los Angeles and employed one Granholm as messenger to collect various sums of money from markets and deposit them at a bank. Having previously sustained a loss by robbery, Smith brought about the appointment of Reid as a special police officer and paid Reid for his services. Reid’s sole duty was to accompany Granholm in an automobile owned by Smith and protect Granholm from robbery until the money was deposited in the bank. He wore a policeman’s uniform with a badge of the type prescribed by the city for special policemen. He carried a sawed-off shotgun loaded with buckshot. When Granholm’s automobile arrived at the bank Granholm left the automobile by the front door. Reid started to leave by the rear door and while he was in the act of getting out of the car the shotgun

[7]

in some manner dropped from his hands and was discharged. Plaintiff • was hit by some of the buckshot. Ordinances of the city of Los Angeles were introduced in evidence providing for the appointment of special police officers to serve without pay. One of the ordinances provided: “The Chief of Police shall have the power to issue special police officers’ badges of the type, size and design approved at the meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners on November 12, 1929, to persons engaged to do special police work, such as bank guards, night watchmen, private patrol work, investigators for the various departments of the City government of the City of Los Angeles, and other special police work, but such special police officers’ badges shall be issued only to persons having a commission or permit as a special police officer from the Board of Police Commissioners. ’ ’ The appointment of Reid as a special officer was made pursuant to the ordinance. Defendant Smith’s motion for nonsuit was denied.

The jury was instructed that Smith was responsible for the negligence of Reid and it is now contended that this instruction was erroneous. There is a sharp conflict of authority on the question of the application of the doctrine of