Courtesy of Denton & Zachary Law Firm
- An Arkansas woman is suing the state police over an officer's use of a "PIT maneuver."
- Dash cam footage shows the police cruiser ramming into her moving car, causing it to flip and crash.
- In the video the officer criticizes the woman, who was pregnant, for not pulling over more quickly.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
An Arkansas woman is suing the state police after a trooper used a tactic known as a "PIT maneuver" to stop her moving car, causing it to flip and crash in the middle of a highway.
Dash cam video of the incident released this week went viral, showing the trooper's cruiser ramming into the back corner of Janice Nicole Harper's car, which had its hazard lights flashing. Harper, who was two months pregnant at the time, was uninjured.
According to the lawsuit filed in May, Harper had been trying to pull over safely, but believed the highway's shoulder was too narrow and that she should wait for an exit. The trooper could be heard later in the video criticizing her for not stopping immediately.
The trooper, identified in the lawsuit as Rodney Dunn, was using a "pursuit intervention technique." Police usually use this tactic when trying to stop dangerous or fleeing vehicles, and it causes the driver to lose control and suddenly turn sideways.
The crash happened on July 9, 2020, when Dunn tried to pull Harper over for driving 84 miles per hour in a 70 miles per hour zone, according to the lawsuit. The dash cam footage shows Harper immediately turning on her indicator, slowing to 60 miles per hour, and switching to the highway's right lane.
Moments later, Dunn's cruiser drew closer to Harper's car, prompting her to switch on her hazard lights. The footage shows that just over two minutes elapsed between the moment Harper first turned on her indicator and the moment Dunn used the PIT maneuver.
"Dunn executed a negligently performed PIT maneuver which flipped [Harper's] vehicle and placed her life and the life of her unborn child at risk," the lawsuit alleges.
Harper's lawyer said she was doing exactly what the state's drivers' manual says to do
The footage shows Dunn approaching Harper's flipped, smoking car as she tried to climb out, asking, "Why didn't you stop?"
"Because I didn't feel like it was safe," Harper said.
"Well, this is where you ended up," Dunn responded.
When Harper explained she wanted to wait for an exit, Dunn told her, "No ma'am. You pull over when law enforcement stops you."
Harper's attorney, Andrew Norwood, provided Insider with the dash cam footage, and noted that his client had followed exactly what the state's driver's license study guide recommended when being stopped by an officer.
The instructions say drivers should pull over to the right side of the road and "activate your turn signal or emergency flashers to indicate to the officer that you are seeking a safe place to stop," which Harper did.
Courtesy of Denton & Zachary Law Firm
The instructions also tell drivers to "pull to the nearest/safest spot out of the traffic lane," which Harper's lawsuit said she attempted.
The Arkansas State Police told Insider in a statement it can't comment due to the pending lawsuit. But it said the agency "continues to instruct and train state troopers in comprehensive emergency vehicle operation training which includes the approved procedures in the use of PIT."
Other law enforcement agencies have strictly regulated officers' use of the maneuver, and in some cases barred them from using it when vehicles are traveling over 35 miles per hour.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, for instance, warns that PIT maneuvers should only be used "when the potential risk of intervention is outweighed by the imminent danger caused by the suspect and/or blatant disregard for the safety of bystanders and other users of the highway."