(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court is upholding a verdict against a Manchester police officer in the death of a motorcyclist after a chase. A jury found Manchester police officer James Wessels committed assault and battery against Augustin Mormann when he ran his patrol car into Mormann’s motorcycle twice and caused him to crash. Mormann eventually died from his injuries and the jury awarded Mormann’s estate more than four million dollars ($4.25-million).

Wessels and the city appealed citing numerous grounds, including qualified immunity and lack of evidence. The Supreme Court ruled the evidence showed that Wessels persisted in his own pursuit, violating department policy after other officers had called off the chase. And that Wessels’s cruiser hit Mormann’s motorcycle intentionally, without justification for using that deadly force.