Is a firefighter or police officer liable for injuries sustained by a fleeing suspect in a motor vehicle accident?

Civil Code section 1714.9 expresses the legislative view that even if a firefighter or police officer accepts the general risks of his employment, and that the costs of those risks are properly spread throughout the community, in some circumstances egregious conduct on the part of a defendant may give rise to tort liability. The subdivision under consideration was prompted by the decision in Hubbard v. Boelt (1980) 28 Cal.3d 480, 169 Cal.Rptr. 706, 620 P.2d 156, in which the court rejected a policeman's suit based on the negligent conduct of a fleeing suspect, as a result of whose negligence the officer was involved in an automobile accident during the pursuit. (See City of Redlands v. Sorensen, supra, 176 Cal.App.3d at p. 208-209, 221 Cal.Rptr. 728, on the statutes as a reaction to Hubbard.)