Arkansas woman suing police after brief chase ends with her car flipped on its top

[Mike Honcho 4,010]

 

A pregnant Arkansas woman's car was flipped on its top by a pursuing state trooper who accused the motorist of not pulling over fast enough, according to video of the brief chase that's being used in her lawsuit.

Nicole Harper, 38, went to bed on July 9 believing her unborn child had died in the crash on U.S. Highway 167 in Jacksonville, Arkansas, her lawyer Andrew Norwood said.

"She cried herself to sleep," Norwood told NBC News on Wednesday.

Harper was going 84 mph in a 70-mph zone when trooper Rodney Dunn turned on his siren and flashed lights for her to pull over, according to her lawsuit filed last month in Pulaski County Circuit Court.

Dashcam video, obtained by Harper's legal team, appeared to show her slowing, activating her blinkers and changing lanes to the right, so she could eventually pull over, Norwood said.

But on the stretch of southbound U.S. 167, the shoulders are narrow and Harper wanted to pull over safely at an exit, the motorist has said.

"It's essentially a bowling alley with bumpers on both sides," Norwood said. "There's nowhere to go; you're boxed in by concrete barriers on both sides."

The pursuit was 2 minutes, 7 seconds long when the trooper tapped the back of Harper's car in a "pursuit intervention technique," more commonly known as a "PIT maneuver," the lawsuit said.

The tap caused Harper's car to suddenly veer left and out of the dashcam's view. The trooper immediately did a 180-degree turnaround and drove back to see the red SUV on its top, footage showed.

The trooper's action "constituted a reckless attempt to engage in conduct that created substantial risk of physical injury," Harper's civil complaint said.

n the video, the trooper approached Harper's flipped car and as he helped her out of the wreckage asked, "Why didn't you stop?"

"Because I didn't feel like it was safe," she answered

"Well this is where you ended up," the trooper responded. "Ma'am you got to pull over."

The Arkansas driver's license manual urges motorists to pull "to the nearest/safest spot out of the traffic lane" when police are exercising a pullover.

In the emergency room that night, a doctor told the two-months-pregnant Harper that a fetal heartbeat could not be detected and she believed the baby had died, Norwood said.

But an exam by her OB-GYN the next morning did pick up the heartbeat, and Harper's daughter was born in February.

In addition to speeding, Harper is being charged with failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, which carries a maximum penalty of a $400 fine.

A spokeswoman for the Arkansas state police declined to comment on both the lawsuit and the July 9 incident.

[Reality 2,710]

She'll probably pull over next time.

[listen2me 23 1,537]

Skimmed through the reading.  It wasnt a bowling lane with bumpers.  Clearly a place to pull over.  Slow way down at least.

It at least looks like thr policeman tried to bump her rearend.  Which is outrageously stupid and uncalled for in the case of a simple speeding violation.  If it is some violent person you are chasing I would have a bit different opinion on bumping the car.

Dumb all around.  Probably deserves to be sued tho.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

. I am going to need a ruling on the definition of "brief chase".

[Utilit99 4,099]

How can a fetus be called an "unborn clhild" by a liberal "my body my choice" craptard?

[listen2me 23 1,537]

To roll like that how fast was she still going?  If you have blinkers on and you dont think its safe to pull over then why not drop it down to what? 40?

[listen2me 23 1,537]

Just now, Utilit99 said:

How can a fetus be called an "unborn clhild" by a liberal "my body my choice" craptard?

This is a good point.   I dont know whos the libtard other than the OP.  But he didnt insinuate where he stands.  

Basically when you want the fetus it is an unborn child.  When you dont it is a disposable fetus.  

 

[Utilit99 4,099]

Just now, listen2me 23 said:

This is a good point.   I dont know whos the libtard other than the OP.  But he didnt insinuate where he stands.  

Basically when you want the fetus it is an unborn child.  When you dont it is a disposable fetus.  

 

Yep. 

[IGotWorms 3,302]

5 hours ago, listen2me 23 said:

To roll like that how fast was she still going?  If you have blinkers on and you dont think its safe to pull over then why not drop it down to what? 40?

At some point you are going too slow for other traffic on the road. I dunno, she was maybe dumb in not pulling over but this officer demonstrated extremely poor judgment and can’t be trusted with the job.

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

Sounds like a two morons collide situation.

Not surprising since it's Arkansas. Arkansas gets neglected when people think of low rent sh!tholes because Mississippi and Louisiana are right there.

[TBayXXXVII 2,107]

They're both wrong, but if Arkansas law says what the cop did is legal, I don't think a lawsuit is going to amount to anything.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

6 hours ago, titans&bucs&bearsohmy! said:

Sounds like a two morons collide situation.

I like the idea of the moron cops handling the moron public. It worked out here.

[IGotWorms 3,302]

Really she’s a moron who deserved to have her car flipped? I mean she slowed down 25mph, got over in the right lane, and put on her hazards—what more could you do to show you were intending to pull over? She probably should’ve just done it right there but that’s hardly reason to endanger her life and the lives of all other nearby drivers.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

12 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

Really she’s a moron who deserved to have her car flipped? I mean she slowed down 25mph, got over in the right line, and put on her hazards—what more could you do to show you were intending to pull over? She probably should’ve just done it right there but that’s hardly reason to endanger her life and the lives of all other nearby drivers.

   You need a troll consultant. 

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

30 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

Really she’s a moron who deserved to have her car flipped? I mean she slowed down 25mph, got over in the right line, and put on her hazards—what more could you do to show you were intending to pull over? She probably should’ve just done it right there but that’s hardly reason to endanger her life and the lives of all other nearby drivers.

Don't think anyone ever said she did deserve to have her car flipped. But then you knew that. 

[IGotWorms 3,302]

Just now, titans&bucs&bearsohmy! said:

Don't think anyone ever said she did deserve to have her car flipped. But then you knew that. 

Well no, but you have people equating the two. One might’ve killed the other. There’s not really much of a comparison

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

6 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

Well no, but you have people equating the two. One might’ve killed the other. There’s not really much of a comparison

Agreed. From the facts as presented, the cop should face discipline. 

[Mike Honcho 4,010]

1 hour ago, TBayXXXVII said:

They're both wrong, but if Arkansas law says what the cop did is legal, I don't think a lawsuit is going to amount to anything.

USA Today

An Arkansas woman says she had no safe place to pull over in July 2020 when a state trooper tried to stop her for speeding, so she turned on her hazard lights and slowed down. Moments later, the officer rammed her vehicle, causing it to flip over and injuring the woman, who was pregnant at the time, according to a May lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide tells motorists that hazards can be used to indicate a driver is seeking a safe place to stop when being pulled over by police. 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." 

[TBayXXXVII 2,107]

2 minutes ago, Mike Honcho said:

USA Today

An Arkansas woman says she had no safe place to pull over in July 2020 when a state trooper tried to stop her for speeding, so she turned on her hazard lights and slowed down. Moments later, the officer rammed her vehicle, causing it to flip over and injuring the woman, who was pregnant at the time, according to a May lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide tells motorists that hazards can be used to indicate a driver is seeking a safe place to stop when being pulled over by police. 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." 

USA Today.  I'm willing to bet there's more information in that study guide that they omitted that may make you think differently.  To note, I'm not saying the cop was right.  I'm simply saying that if had grounds and the law allows what he did, I don't think she'll win a lawsuit.  I do think that the law may get changed because of this.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

1 hour ago, IGotWorms said:

Really she’s a moron who deserved to have her car flipped? I mean she slowed down 25mph, got over in the right lane, and put on her hazards—what more could you do to show you were intending to pull over? She probably should’ve just done it right there but that’s hardly reason to endanger her life and the lives of all other nearby drivers.

Did she slow to 25?  Really?   

[TBayXXXVII 2,107]

11 minutes ago, TimmySmith said:

Did she slow to 25?  Really?   

My guess is that she never got below 40 or 50 after the initial shock of her stepping on her brakes after the cops lights went on.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

7 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

My guess is that she never got below 40 or 50 after the initial shock of her stepping on her brakes after the cops lights went on.

There is no proof of anything that I can see, but she certainly didn't get below 40, probably not less than 50.  I doubt the pit maneuver even works at 25. 

[IGotWorms 3,302]

1 hour ago, TimmySmith said:

Did she slow to 25?  Really?   

Is that what I said? Reading comprehension is your friend

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

25, 40, or 80 mph, you shouldn't be trying to pit people unless it's a much more serious situation than a speeding ticket. If he followed procedure there, the procedure needs to change. 

[avoiding injuries 1,220]

14 minutes ago, titans&bucs&bearsohmy! said:

25, 40, or 80 mph, you shouldn't be trying to pit people unless it's a much more serious situation than a speeding ticket. If he followed procedure there, the procedure needs to change. 

One could argue that when she didn’t pull over she started a police chase that could have injured innocent drivers. Like all the other cases in the news, comply and you don’t get hurt. 

[DonS 3,063]

Good to hear that the baby is OK.  I bet the father was really concerned when he heard his sister was in an accident.