Jury Awards $4.25M to Parents of Man Thrown From Motorcycle During Police Chase
An Iowa jury has awarded the parents of 31-year-old Augustin “Gus” Mormann $4.25 million after their son was killed during a high-speed police chase in Manchester.
Mormann died in January 2021, more than one month after he was thrown off his motorcycle during the high-speed chase with police. The officer involved in the chase was Manchester Police Lt. Jim Wessels. Mormann’s parents sued Wessels and the city, arguing the two defendants were liable for their son’s death.
On March 22, the Delaware County jury agreed and handed down the multimillion-dollar verdict. The couple was awarded $250,000 for their son's injuries and another $2 million per parent for their son’s death. An additional $10,000 in punitive damages was also separately awarded after the jury found Wessels' actions showed "willful, wanton and reckless disregard for the rights or safety of another."
The fatal high-speed chase happened on December 10, 2020. Despite having a barred license, Mormann was driving his motorcycle when an officer attempted to pull him over. Mormann did not pull over and instead proceeded to speed away toward Manchester.
Additional officers from other agencies joined in on the chase, but all except Wessels eventually called the chase off. According to the family’s lawyer, Dave O’Brien, Wessels was driving over 100 mph to catch up with Mormann who was driving at around 60 mph. Wessels made contact with Mormann’s bike twice, with the second contact causing Mormann to lose control of his bike, resulting in him flying off, crashing into a ditch, then into a fence. Mormann was ejected more than 100 feet from where his bike finally settled.
As a result of the crash, Mormann suffered severe spinal cord injuries, leaving him paralyzed and unable to breathe on his own.
His parents shared that while he was in the hospital, he was on a ventilator. Mormann would eventually die from his injuries 36 days later. "We sat beside his bed for 35 hours," his mom Sandy Mormann said. "It’s pretty hard for a parent to watch their son die."
Mormann’s parents acknowledge that their son should have pulled over when the police attempted to stop him. However, Mormann’s father, Dan, expressed, "We know that's the right thing, but why did Wessels chase as far as he could, get ahead of everybody else, and everybody else called the pursuit off, and he thought he was going to do – what? What was he going to do when he caught up with him?"
In filing their claim, the Mormanns shared their son had struggled with mental health and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his mid-20s. His struggles with mental health would later result in several run-ins with Manchester officers.
Mormann’s parents share that the verdict brought them a sense of closure and accountability for their son’s death. Their attorney also shared, “The punitive damages send a clear message here. Iowa does not have the death penalty, much less so for summary execution of a person for traffic violations.”
