Sign up for our newsletter.

Quality journalism. Progressive values. Direct to your inbox.

A pregnant woman's car was flipped over when an Arkansas police officer completed a PIT maneuver on a highway

A police officer in Arkansas flipped a pregnant woman's car on a highway in July 2020, believing she was evading him after speeding. The woman was actually attempting to pull over safely, her lawyer says, in accordance with the state's driving laws. (Image: screenshot)

'Unequivocally Deadly': Cop Flips Over Car of Pregnant Woman Who Didn't Pull Over Fast Enough

"Not only is what she did not wrong," said one observer, "it's what you're supposed to do: turning on hazards to indicate you're complying and pulling over at the next safe place."

Police dash cam footage that began to go viral Wednesday has sparked outrage as it showed a state trooper in Arkansas forcing the SUV of a pregnant woman driver—who claims she was was trying to find a safer place to pull over—to crash and roll over during an attempted highway traffic stop in July of last year.

"A person who was obeying the law could have been killed along with her unborn child, all thanks to a veteran police officer not knowing the law he is meant to enforce, or being unable to resist performing a dangerous and unnecessary maneuver." —Erin Marquis, Jalopnik

Nicole Harper, who was two months pregnant when Senior Cpl. Rodney Dunn attempted to pull her over, filed a lawsuit against the Arkansas State Police last month, accusing the agency of negligence and excessive force. 
 
The dash cam footage shows Harper reducing her speed and turning her emergency flashers on after Dunn began trying to pull her over for allegedly driving at 84 miles per hour in a 70 mile-per-hour zone. Harper said the shoulder on the stretch of highway she was driving on was too narrow to safely pull to the side. 
 
According to the Arkansas Driver's Manual, a driver who's being pulled over is supposed to "activate your turn signal or emergency flashers to indicate to the officer that you are seeking a safe place to stop," but Dunn waited just two minutes and seven seconds after turning on his siren before treating Harper as a fleeing suspect, pulling up to the side of her car and nudging the left side. 
 
The Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver caused Harper's vehicle to swerve into a concrete median and flip over. 
 
"What was done on Miss Harper was unequivocally deadly," Harper's attorney, Andrew Norwood, told Newsweek.
 
According to NBC News, Harper feared she had suffered a pregnancy loss after the crash, but her doctor later confirmed that her unborn child was safe and her daughter was born earlier this year. 
 
Dunn, who is still on the force and has worked as a highway patrol officer since 1994, charged Harper with fleeing after confronting her at the scene of the crash. 
 
"Why didn't you stop?" Dunn is heard asking Harper in the dash cam video.

"Because I didn't feel it was safe," she responds, to which Dunn replies, "Well, this is where you ended up."

According to Jalopnik, "most precincts leave whether to chase a suspect or driver or not up to their officers' discretion" and data shows police agencies that give officers more freedom to decide when to give chase have higher rates of chases. 
 
"In this instance," wrote Erin Marquis at Jalopnik, "a person who was obeying the law could have been killed along with her unborn child, all thanks to a veteran police officer not knowing the law he is meant to enforce, or being unable to resist performing a dangerous and unnecessary maneuver."
 
Harper and her attorney told Newsweek they hope their lawsuit will result in changes to the Arkansas State Police's policies regarding PIT maneuvers.
 
On social media, critics expressed outrage at the viral dash cam video.
 
"The officer's action's are attempted murder," tweeted author Geraldine DeRuiter. 
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Comments
We need your help.

Support progressive journalism.

Common Dreams is not your average news site. We don't survive on clicks or advertising dollars. We rely entirely on your support. And without it, our independent progressive journalism simply wouldn’t exist. Every gift of every amount matters.

Join the fight and support our common dreams today.

Donate now

Related

Transgender girls in Austin, TX

GOP State Laws Attacking Trans Kids' Rights Are 'Unconstitutional': DOJ

Julia Conley, staff writer ·

Paxton Smith, valedictorian of Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, decided against delivering her approved speech at her graduation on Sunday and opted instead to speak out against her state's newly signed anti-choice law.

Dallas High School Valedictorian Scraps Approved Speech to Speak Out Against State's Extreme Anti-Choice Law

Julia Conley, staff writer ·

A migrant family from Central America waits to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after they crossed into the United States from Mexico on April 29, 2021 near Yuma, Arizona. (Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

'There Is No Excuse': Amnesty Slams Biden Over Skyrocketing ICE Detentions and 400,000+ Expulsions

Kenny Stancil, staff writer ·

chain

Consumerism, Another Inheritance From the Slavery System

Jorge Majfud ·

Latest News

See all
115 degrees F sign

'Surreal' and 'Distressing': Climate Experts' Predictions Come True With US Heatwave

"The current heatwave and drought leave no doubt, we are living the dangerous effects of the climate crisis."

Jessica Corbett, staff writer ·

Police in high school

'Counseling Not Criminalization' Bill Unveiled to Boot Police From US Schools

"For too long our education system has been intertwined with the criminal legal system and the results have been tragic."

Andrea Germanos, staff writer ·

Barbara Lee

After Iraq War Authorization Repealed, Calls Grow to 'Do the 2001 AUMF Next'

"We must keep up our fight to repeal the 2001 AUMF so that no future president has the unilateral power to plunge us into endless wars," said Rep. Barbara Lee.

Brett Wilkins, staff writer ·

"our future in your hands"

'Historic': Belgium Court Says Inadequate Climate Policy a Human Rights Violation

Climate campaigners welcomed the ruling as a victory.

Andrea Germanos, staff writer ·

Bipartisan infrastructure group

Critics Warn Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan 'Would Facilitate a Wall Street Takeover'

"This deal is a disaster in the making, and it must be rejected."

Jake Johnson, staff writer ·

Most Popular

 
  1. Rev. Barber Says West Virginians Are Ready for 'Non-Violent Sit-Ins' Against Manchin for Abetting GOP Voter Suppression
  2. Calls to 'Expand the Supreme Court' Grow as McConnell Warns He's Prepared to Steal Another Seat
  3. On Climate and Covid-19 Emergencies, G7 Judged a 'Colossal Failure' for All the World to See
  4. Ocasio-Cortez Says 'Elephant in the Room' Is Senate Democrats Blocking Their Own Party's Agenda
  5. Progressives Rally to Defend Ilhan Omar After 'Bad Faith' Attack by House Democratic Leadership
  6. 'A Deeply Dangerous Order': Trump-Appointed Judge Blocks Biden From Pausing New Oil Drilling Leases
  7. Analysis Highlights Biden Proposal to End $84 Billion Gift to Big Oil Buried in Trump Tax Scam
  8. After Far-Right Marchers Chant 'Death to Arabs,' New Israeli Government Bombs Gaza
  9. 'Dangerous and Unconscionable': Amnesty Finds Biden Is Illegally Expelling Thousands of Unaccompanied Children
  10. Intent on Appeasing Manchin, US Blocks G7 Progress on Phasing Out Coal