Topeka ? A man who saw his wife killed when a car slammed into her car during a police chase wants to sue the Wichita Police Department for putting residents at risk by pursuing a criminal.

Gabe Robbins’ case has gone to the Kansas Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments Friday. The court will decide whether his case can go to a jury.

“The police are OK with the fact that she got killed,” he said. “Well, I’m not OK with it. They need to be held accountable for their actions.”

But Michael North, attorney for the city of Wichita, said the person running from police is responsible for Amy Robbins’ death. He said police followed city policy and state law governing police chases, and that “law enforcement officers are not responsible.”

During arguments Friday, Supreme Court justices tried to balance giving police power to pursue and protecting bystanders. Justices said police need legal protection when pursing criminals, but that, in the words of Justice Eric Rosen, “it’s not carte blanche immunity.”

Chief Justice Kay McFarland said police don’t have much time to consider all the risks before starting a chase.

“Isn’t that asking a lot of an emergency situation?” she asked Craig Schultz, Robbins’ attorney.

“I think it’s for a jury to decide,” he responded.

A 2006 Harvard University analysis of highway deaths found 7,430 deaths resulted from police pursuits from 1982 to 2004. Motorists trying to elude police accounted for most of the deaths, but almost 2,000 uninvolved motorists and pedestrians also died; 81 police officers were killed.

In Kansas and Missouri, police are generally immune from civil lawsuits when they follow procedures for high-speed chases. In Kansas, those guidelines allow them to disregard the speed limit, stop signs, traffic lights and one-way traffic signs, if they use their flashing lights and sirens.

Law enforcement agencies use those parameters to set their own policies for when to engage in chases. The crime, the time of day, road conditions and the amount of traffic are all factors when police decide whether to pursue.

“It’s the totality of the circumstances,” said Overland Park police officer and spokesman Jim Weaver. “There are certain crimes that you would pursue and certain crimes you don’t. An officer always has to weigh the dangers that exist to everyone involved.”

A man suspected of violence against his girlfriend was driving the car that killed Amy Robbins, 29. The two-minute chase through Wichita reached an average speed of nearly 75 mph, according to an analysis by Schultz.