An Arkansas State Police trooper used a ramming technique to stop an SUV taking a child to the hospital while going 12 MPH over the speed limit. The driver of the SUV was taking his son, who had suffered an allergic reaction, to the hospital for a medical emergency when the trooper spun him out.
In fairness to the trooper, she was unaware of the medical emergency. However, the SUV did have its hazard lights on and was not speeding excessively. If police used a PIT maneuver on every vehicle going 12 MPH over the speed limit, crashed cars would litter the highways.
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the incident occurred on Interstate 630 in Little Rock at around 8:28 a.m. In the official report, the trooper said that the motorist bypassed exits, refused to stop, and that traffic was increasing up ahead. Despite the trooper admitting in her report that the SUV had slowed, she felt the need to ram it for these reasons.
“Fleeing in a vehicle is viewed as an inherently dangerous crime (by the courts) regardless of the speeds involved,” the trooper wrote in the police report.
After spinning out the SUV, the trooper utilized her cruiser to pin it to the concrete barrier in the median. She then aggressively yells at the man, whose wife and two toddlers, including the one who was sick, were inside the vehicle.
As he tries to explain why he wouldn’t stop, the trooper places him in handcuffs at gunpoint. Eventually, the trooper called for an ambulance to take the child to the hospital.
An investigation into the trooper’s actions is now underway
The state police Office of Professional Standards is investigating the trooper’s actions. The police are also not charging the driver of the SUV with any offense.
“This incident underscores the importance of communication when it’s necessary to transport someone having a medical emergency in a private vehicle, which occurs with regularity across Arkansas,” Col. Mike Hagar, director of the state police, said in a news release.
Arkansas State Police spokesperson Nick Genty recommended that drivers transporting people in need of medical care should always call 911, tell the dispatcher what’s going on and identify their vehicle, destination and route. He also said that even if they have done that, drivers still should always pull over if an officer attempts to stop them.
The driver of the SUV claimed his wife was on the phone with 911 when the trooper rammed his SUV.
This isn’t the first time Arkansas State Police have come under scrutiny for ramming vehicles
In January, the Arkansas State Police fired a trooper who mistakenly rammed the wrong vehicle following a pursuit. The vehicle had two passengers inside, including a 9-year-old boy.
In 2020, a pregnant woman was PIT-maneuvered, and her SUV was flipped by an Arkansas State Police trooper after she slowed down and turned on her warning lights while looking for a safe spot to pull over on a rural roadway at night. She later filed a lawsuit, claiming she was attempting to safely cooperate.