Unless there have been other fatalities as a result of unrestrained rides in a police van, it should be hard to show that the driver could have thought that ride was likely to kill someone. As far as I know, this is the first time I know of someone dying by breaking their neck while riding in the back of a van.
There were two links yesterday to people seriously injured when Baltimore police took them on “nickel rides”. Very large amount of $$$$ awarded I’ve been checking Google but haven’t been able to find it today
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-gray-rough-rides-20150423-story.html#page=1
Paralyzed from head down.
A lawsui in progress from 2012
Wish we knew the officers and precincts involved