Thomas Campbell and Bonnie Glenn owned the apartment building located at 102-104 Bellevue Street, in the Dorchester section of Boston. Campbell was the day-to-day manager, supervising any renovations and collecting the rents. On April 2, 1987, a Boston

Question

police officer, after observing heavy foot traffic in the building, made a drug-related raid and arrest in the building. Break-ins were common at apartment no. 104-3. Following one of the break-ins, a different door was installed to apartment no. 104-3. The door had a hollow "peephole" below the traditional peephole and two "two by fours" were used to bar the inside of the door. After the new door was installed, transactions could occur by having the buyer put money through the lower peephole in the door. Drugs were pushed out the same hole to the buyer. Campbell collected rents in the building. When he collected from apartment no. 104-3, he would be met by different individuals who claimed to be the occupant's cousin or brother. Campbell was never able to see inside apartment no. 104-3. Three weeks after the new door was installed, Detective Sherman Griffiths of the Boston Police Department was shot and killed during the course of a raid on apartment no. 104-3. His widow (plaintiff) brought suit against Campbell and Glenn for their negligence in the operation and maintenance of their building. Are they liable? Griffiths v. Campbell, 679 N.E.2d 536 (Mass. 1997).

Answer 1

?No. The failure to notify police of alleged illegal activity was not the sole cause of the death of the officer. Even if the police had been notified, a homicide during the course of a raid is not foreseeable.