Robinson (Appellant) v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (Respondent)

[2018] UKSC 4
UKSC 2016/0082
Robinson (Appellant) v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (Respondent)
On appeal from the Court of Appeal Civil Division (England and Wales)
The Appellant was a passer-by during an arrest on the street. As the police caught the suspect, she was knocked to the ground. She claimed personal injury damages against the Respondent, alleging police negligence. The Recorder at trial found that the officer who planned the arrest was under a duty to consider the risk to passing members of the public, and had acted negligently. However, there was an immunity of suit for police officers engaged in the apprehension of criminals (the Hill immunity). Therefore the claim was dismissed.
The “Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police” immunity protects the police from claims when in the course of their core duties they negligently cause injury to passers-by. The issue in this case is does this apply in a case where the relevant police act was a positive act? Was the Court of Appeal correct to overturn the first instance findings of negligence?
The Appeal is allowed. The present case concerned a positive act, not an omission. The reasonably foreseeable risk of injury to the Appellant when the arrest was attempted was enough to impose a duty of care on the officers. The Appellant’s injuries were caused by the officers’ breach of their duty of care; she was injured as a result of being exposed to the danger from which they had a duty of care to protect her.