An Arkansas woman has filed a lawsuit against an Arkansas State Police trooper who utilized a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver, flipping the vehicle she was driving while she was pregnant.
Janice Harper’s lawsuit names trooper Rodney Dunn, his supervisor, trooper Alan C. Johnson; and Arkansas State Police Director Col. Bill Bryant, claiming trooper Dunn used the maneuver “negligently†while he was in pursuit of Harper on Highway 67/167 in July of 2020 for an alleged speeding violation.
Trooper Dunn’s dashcam video shows Harper driving with her emergency flashers active on a section of the highway with concrete barriers and no visible exits according to the suit. Attorneys claim this left Harper with no room to safely pull over her car after trooper Dunn initiated the stop.
The video, which we are sharing shows Dunn utilizing the PIT technique to flip Harper’s vehicle after about two minutes.
The lawsuit claims the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide instructs drivers to “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.†says her attorneys.
Harper claims she suffered injuries, mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment.
Col. Bryant with the Arkansas State Police defended the use of the maneuver in stopping non-compliant drivers.
You be the judge…..