Wichita ? A judge ruled that the family of a woman killed when a fleeing suspect collided with her car has no legal grounds to sue Wichita police.

In the ruling issued Wednesday, Sedgwick County District Judge Paul Clark found that police are immune under the law from liability arising from their jobs.

The suit was brought by the family of Amy Robbins, 29. She was driving to work in October 2004 when Jeffrey Drechsler, 42, ran a stoplight and hit her car. Drechsler also was killed.

The chase started when police arrived at Drechsler’s house to investigate a report that he had threatened his common-law wife with an ax.

“This is strictly a matter of law,” City Atty. Gary Rebenstorf said after Clark’s ruling. “The fleeing felon is responsible for the injuries and not the police in pursuit.”

The attorney for Robbins’ family, Craig Shultz, said he was considering an appeal.

Government workers are protected under Kansas law from being held liable for decisions made while carrying out their duties. However, Shultz argued that another law prohibits the drivers of emergency vehicles from putting others in danger.

“The tragic thing about this is, whether or not we win this lawsuit, the police have not discussed with the officers their conduct that night,” Shultz said. “All they want to do is say the law gives them immunity. But they haven’t sat down with the officers involved to talk about what they might have done differently to keep this from happening again.”

Shultz claimed officers involved in the chase did not operate their emergency lights and siren in violation of department policies.

But the judge found no evidence to support those claims.