On July 9, Nicole Harper -an expecting mother, had been driving on a highway in Jacksonville, Arkansas with her four-month old child in the vehicle. She was caught driving over the speed limit -going 84 mph in a 70 mph zone. Police officer Rodney Dunn turned on his sirens and lights to signal her to pull over, but being trapped between two concrete safety barriers and no safe shoulder to pull onto safety on the two lane highway, Harper turned on her blinkers and merged to the right lane to signal to the cop that she would soon pull over as she reduced speed. After just over two minutes of following her, Officer Dunn deemed it necessary to tap the back of Harper’s car in a maneuver known as a “pursuit intervention technique” or PIT technique. This caused Harper’s car to veer to the left lane, flipping in the process, and landing upside down in the middle of the roadway. Officer Dunn needed to turn back around to see the horrendous results of his own action. He did approach the overturned vehicle to assist the expectant mother as he could, but also insisted on asking, “Why didn’t you stop?”
She replied, “Because I didn’t feel like it was SAFE.” The whole incident can be viewed online from the perspective of officer Dunn’s dashcam.
The Arkansas driving manual states that a person should pull off “to the nearest/safest spot out of the traffic lane” while a police officer is pulling one over (Li). Harper did not feel safe to pull over and followed the laws accordingly and still suffered from officer Dunn’s impulsive and poor decision-making. Harper stated that she went to the OB-GYN the next day to confirm that the baby still had a heartbeat, and also shared that she suffered “bodily injuries, mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment.” She was still given the ticket and received a penalty for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle which can result in a $400 fine -a lawsuit is currently pending against officer Dunn.
The PIT maneuver is dangerous -as it can result in fatalities, and is only supposed to be used in very particular circumstances, such as when a confirmed dangerous criminal is fleeing with no other way to stop their vehicle. Not only did Officer Dunn unknowingly risk Harper and her children’s lives too, but he also created a very hazardous condition for other highway users that might have been around them. I am not convinced it was necessary for Dunn to execute the PIT maneuver on a car going 60 mph. At this point, I’ve got more questions than answers; Why did the police think that this maneuver was necessary in this situation? Is officer Dunn going to pay for his actions of endangering Harper? What will justice look like for Harper? However things unfold, we hope this will result in real changes in the justice system and implement new policies for police officer training of HOW, WHEN and WHAT not to do to actually maintain the safety of our highways.
Written By: Jordan Rundlett
Edited By: Winnie Okello, P.E.
