I got pulled over in Arkansas on the highway for speeding when driving thru the state in the late 90's. I slowed down with my flashers on until I came to a full stop. Police stopped behind me, quickly got out and approached my driver side and told me its too dangerous to stop there on the highway because the shoulder is not wide enough... He then told me to continue to the next exit. At the next exit...he then gave me a ticket for going 8 mph over the speed limit. Regardless, not sure why this cop thought the woman was fleeing when she was clearly slowing down, with her hazard lights on along with the fact she's like a more than 1/2 way on the shoulder. Seriously, where was the threat ? Should be an easy lawsuit for her to win. wrbtrader
Fuck that specific cop....she had her hazards on and was slowing down, there was no fleeing going on. Hope she wins big and that cop never gets to pull over anyone again. Poor training rears its ugly head again. How fucking hard is it to send out a message statewide and set up a policy that if a police is flashing lights and you are going to find a safe spot to pull over you flash your hazards and slow down... then rogue cops don't have to pretend they are Mad Max and flip cars and cost the tax payers so much money. Her car gets totalled for a speeding ticket (14mph over the limit is a minor offense in most states, 15mph and over is often mandated court date and or points).
That's similar to what happened here -- except she didn't stop. Driver: I thought it would be safer to wait until the next exit. Cop: No ma'am. you pull over when law enforcement stops you. Why does everyone think they can make up their own laws when police tell you to do something? And even if the shoulder wasn't very wide, a police car with its lights on and stopped behind the speeder would have signaled other drivers.
Still no excuse to ram her car and flip her. She clearly was not engaging in a high speed car chase or looking to evade the cop by slowing down in front and using her hazards. It was a dick move by the cop who chose to ram her as opposed to staying behind her longer, calling it in, or anything else that does not involve almost killing a woman or seriously injuring her. Last time I checked the penalty for speeding less than 15mph over the limit was a ticket, not a totalled car and risk of severe injury.
First, the cop is on audio saying to the woman while she's in her car (upside down) that she was "fleeing". Someone that is fleeing is not going to "slow down", put their flashers on nor pull over carefully to the shoulder. That's a cop that lacks common sense and has poor training because any idiot can see that her actions with her vehicle is not someone that's "fleeing". Further, what the fuck, its a speeding ticket violation (not a reckless high speed chase) that does not merit a cop using the "pit maneuver" or whatever its called on her slowing down vehicle with flashers on. Actually, in some states...that's a method that the vehicle operator is signalling to the police they are indeed going to pull over when they can find a safe location to "stop". I'm not sure if Arkansas is one of those states. Yet, in my situation, the Arkansas state trooper was very angry that I stopped on the highway with such a narrow shoulder in which he made it clear that I needed to pull over at the next exit. Regardless, that tactic the cop used is for high speed chase in which a fleeing vehicle is becoming a danger to others and approaching an area where bystanders can be injured / killed from the high speed chase. More telling, did you notice the behavior of the police as they walked over to the vehicle that's upside down... The cop didn't behave as if the person in the vehicle was a threat. He actually "knocks" on her window and ask if she's ok...most likely he didn't even pull out his gun...its a contradiction to what the cop stated to the women...you were fleeing. Its a clear use of excessive force and his behavior afterwards while he was talking to her next to her vehicle...he was polite and suddenly concerned about her well being. That's a cop that knew he had fucked up and knew that type of excessive force was not needed. Seriously, cops that typically use that pit maneuver would have their guns drawn while approaching the vehicle they had just used the pit maneuver on including demanding the person inside to come out with their hands up in the air... They are not going to politely knock on your window and ask if you're ok. wrbtrader
There was plenty of room to pull over. She was fleeing and didn't want to admit it. It was a good idea to do a pit maneuver. She won't win a single penny in this case.