Arkansas trooper caught on dashcam punching passenger after 140mph chase in Blytheville
Dashcam footage shows an Arkansas State Police trooper pulling a man by his hair and punching him after a high-speed chase in Blytheville on 19 August.
Arkansas State Police trooper punches passenger following high-speed chase, dashcam footage shows
An Arkansas State Police trooper was recorded on dashcam pulling a vehicle passenger by his dreadlocks through a broken rear window and punching him in the face, following a high-speed chase that ended in the streets of Blytheville on 19 August, Google News MT — Crime (en) reports.
The footage, released by multiple outlets including the northeast Arkansas news website NEA Report, went viral over the weekend after circulating widely on social media.
The pursuit began at approximately 11:20 p.m. and reached speeds of 140 mph. Officers from the Gosnell Police Department and Blytheville Police Department joined the chase, with Blytheville officers deploying Tasers to subdue suspects, according to the video.
The dashcam recording shows the state trooper executing a tactical vehicle intervention — commonly referred to as a PIT maneuver — on a fleeing Infiniti hatchback, bringing it to a stop. The driver then attempted to exit the vehicle and was apprehended by officers. The trooper subsequently broke out the rear driver's-side window with his baton and ordered the male passenger in the back seat to "crawl out."
The trooper grabbed the man by his wrist and by his dreadlocks, yanking his upper body through the window opening. He then released the man's hair before striking him in the face with his fist. The passenger is Black; the trooper is white.
State Police spokesperson Cindy Murphy, contacted for comment on Sunday, said via text message: "I don't have access to reports on this incident or its status on a Sunday." The lone Gosnell Police Department officer on duty that day was unable to provide details. Blytheville Police Chief John Frazier referred all questions to state police.
"That was a state police chase," Frazier said. "All we did was assist."
The Blytheville incident has drawn comparisons to a separate use-of-force case involving state police earlier in August. On 1 August, Trooper Moisses Arellano punched 18-year-old Alisa Hackett in the head during an arrest in Osceola, Arkansas. A lawsuit filed by civil rights attorney Ben Crump subsequently named Arellano in his individual capacity, seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.
State Representative Lincoln Barnett, Democrat of Hughes, linked the two incidents in a Facebook post on Saturday. "An 18-day and 17.2-mile difference, and the Troop C - Arkansas State Police are at it again," Barnett wrote. "Last time, it was in Osceola, Arkansas, and this time it was in Blytheville, Arkansas. These occurrences are not new; rather, they are systemic and long-standing, and now they are more readily captured on camera."
Barnett wrote that the troopers involved "were entrusted by the public to 'protect and to serve,' yet they have shown themselves to 'harm and oppress.'" He added that continued silence from the Department of Public Safety and the Arkansas State Police risked making both agencies "associated with being a 'public threat' to not only minorities and low-to-moderate income citizens, but to every citizen of Arkansas."
Crump also published a Facebook post about the Blytheville incident on Saturday; by Sunday afternoon it had been shared more than 4,000 times.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)