Manchester examining options after $4.25M verdict

The city of Manchester is examining its legal options after a jury last week ordered the city to pay $4.25 million to the family of a man killed in a crash with a police officer in 2020.

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“We respect the jury’s verdict,” Manchester Mayor Connie Behnken said Friday. “However, we are looking at our options and it may be pending further litigation.”

The officer who was involved in the crash, James Wessels, retired from the police department in February 2022, according to a deposition taken for the lawsuit.

Records show Wessels was involved in a high-speed chase on Dec. 10, 2020 with Augustin “Gus” Mormann, who was riding a motorcycle. A lawsuit filed by his parents asserted that Wessels forced Mormann off the road, causing a crash that led to Mormann’s death about a month later.

According to the lawsuit and police reports, other officers had ended the pursuit for safety reasons, but Wessels continued and struck Mormann’s motorcycle.

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