$41.6 Million Federal Verdict After Tribal Police Chief's 100 mph Chase Leaves Teen Brain-Damaged
Won by Beardsley Jensen & Lee.
A federal judge awarded $41.6 million to two young victims after a Flandreau Sioux Tribe police chief initiated a reckless, policy-violating pursuit at speeds exceeding 100 mph on gravel roads in Moody County, South Dakota, leaving one teenager with a permanent traumatic brain injury.
What happened
On June 18, 2017, Robert Neuenfeldt, chief of the Flandreau Sioux Tribe's police department, joined a high-speed chase of a vehicle driven by Tahlen Bourassa on rural gravel roads in Moody County, South Dakota. The pursuit lasted more than 30 minutes and reached speeds above 100 mph. Morgan Ten Eyck and Micah Roemen were passengers in Bourassa's car.
After officers deployed spike strips and set up a barricade, Bourassa's vehicle lost control and rolled multiple times. Ten Eyck, then a teenager, sustained a traumatic brain injury, a broken femur, and serious liver damage. Roemen suffered head trauma, fractured vertebrae, and a broken wrist. Both face long-term medical consequences from their injuries.
Steven C. Beardsley and Michael S. Beardsley of Beardsley, Jensen and Lee in Rapid City filed suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Because Neuenfeldt was a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee at the time, the government bore liability for his on-duty conduct. An early motion to dismiss had tested whether FTCA immunity blocked the negligence claims; the court allowed those claims to proceed, finding the discretionary-function and law-enforcement-officer exceptions did not shield the government from a lawsuit based on a pursuit that violated BIA policy.
At trial before U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol, the firm argued the chase served no legitimate officer-safety purpose and breached the federal policies governing high-speed pursuits. Judge Piersol agreed, finding Neuenfeldt's conduct unjustifiable under BIA standards. On March 24, 2025, the court entered judgment of $39.5 million for Morgan Ten Eyck, whose injuries require lifetime care, and $2.1 million for Micah Roemen, for a combined total of $41.6 million.
The Dakota Scout reported the verdict shortly after entry. Turtle Talk, an Indian law press outlet, noted the Roemen decision as 'Roemen v. United States, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56276.' No reduction or remittitur has been reported as of the publication of this page.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.The Dakota Scout - Government ordered to pay tens of millions following Moody County high-speed chase verdict·Archived copy
- 2.vLex - Ten Eyck v. United States, 463 F.Supp.3d 969 (D.S.D. 2020) - court opinion naming Beardsley attorneys of record·Archived copy
- 3.vLex - Roemen v. United States, 463 F.Supp.3d 990 (D.S.D. 2020) - court opinion confirming Steven C. and Michael S. Beardsley as plaintiff counsel·Archived copy
- 4.Turtle Talk (Indian law press) - South Dakota Federal Court Awards $39M to Victims of Negligent High-Speed Chase by Flandreau Tribal Police·Archived copy
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