Last June, Arkansas resident Nicole Harper was driving near Jacksonville, Arkansas when Arkansas State Police trooper Rodney Dunn pulled in behind her and signaled to her to pull over.
Nicole Harper then did exactly what the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide tells drivers to do: she slowed down, put on her hazard lights, and looked for a safe place to pull over. Since the highway shoulder was very narrow at that location, Harper began to drive toward a exit ramp.
But although she did what she was supposed to do to “comply,” she didn’t comply fast enough for trooper Dunn. Within two minutes of flashing his lights, Dunn used a so-called “PIT” (precision immobilization technique) to cause Harper’s car to spin out and flip over.
Dunn rammed his front bumper into the left rear edge of Harper’s car. Harper, who was pregnant at the time, then careened across three lanes of traffic and flipped over.
Dunn then approached Harper’s car and informed her that she got what she deserved, stating that because she didn’t stop fast enough, “this is where you ended up.”
Harper is now suing Dunn and other members of the Arkansas State Police for “negligently” using a PIT maneuver which put Harper’s life and the life of her unborn child at risk.
Naturally, rather than admit the officer acted rashly in response to what was a “textbook” and recommended response to a police traffic stop, the State of Arkansas will now use taxpayer funds to fight the lawsuit in court.
State police claim that Harper chose to “flee” and that she was a danger to other drivers. Of course, many rational people viewing the dashcam footage of Dunn’s actions could just as easily come to the conclusion that by flipping Harper’s car, it was Dunn who was endangering the public.
Harper’s attorney correctly notes that Dunn chose to use deadly force against a pregnant woman who was in the process of slowing down and looking for a safe place to pull over. Moreover, it is unlikely that Dunn had any knowledge of who was in the car, and whether or not small children were inside.
Unfortunately, this is just the latest case of police employing deadly force on citizens in the process of complying with police orders. For example, in the case of Philandro Castile—who did exactly what he was supposed to do as a concealed-carry driver—was shot dead while complying with police orders. And then there was the case of Atatania Jefferson, who was shot dead in her own living room without even being given the chance to comply. One might also consider the case of Phillip White, a 77-year-old, 140-pound blind man whose face was slammed into a ticket counter by police because he wasn’t complying fast enough with police orders. White was already handcuffed at the time.
In the Arkansas case, Harper’s lawsuit is unlikely to have any personal effect on Dunn who, in accordance with Arkansas law, enjoys immunity from any personal responsibility for his actions. Dunn, who has received a taxpayer-funded government salary for more than thirty years, enjoys immunity from any personal liability in virtually all cases.
