The Arkansas State trooper who deliberately crashed a pregnant woman's car to make a traffic stop did nothing wrong, state lawyers asserted Wednesday in response to the woman's negligence and excessive-force lawsuit.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office is defending Trooper Rodney Dunn in the five-week-old lawsuit against the officer brought by Janice Nicole Harper, 39, of North Little Rock.
The 15-page answer to the suit by Rutledge senior assistant attorney general Jennifer Merritt states that Dunn did nothing wrong and further asserts that he is entitled to immunity under the state and federal constitutions.
Even if Dunn's immunity argument is disregarded, the state lawyers can show that Harper's actions brought her injuries on herself which would nullify her suit, the pleading states.
"Dunn's conduct was objectively reasonable as a matter of law," the response states. "All actions taken were based upon probable cause and reasonable cause, were those of an objectively reasonable officer, and were in according with the U.S. Constitution and state law."
Harper asserts that Dunn negligently used the Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver, called a PIT, on her car in July on U.S. 67/167 near Sherwood, flipping her vehicle and injuring her while also endangering her life and the life of her unborn child.
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Barely two minutes passed between Dunn turning on his lights and siren and "ramming" his cruiser into her, according to the suit.
There was no justification for the act because Harper had slowed down to well below the speed limit as soon as she saw Dunn's flashing lights but could not safely pull over right away on the dark highway, the suit states. She says she also turned on her emergency flashers to acknowledge the trooper.
The PIT maneuver involves a police officer using the front corner of his cruiser to push the back corner of another vehicle to one side, causing it to turn sideways and in theory come to a stop.
Dunn had clocked Harper driving 84 mph in a 70-mph zone, and ticketed her after the crash. She is fighting the traffic citation in Sherwood District Court.
She asserts in her suit that Dunn's actions amounted to assault, battery and excessive force. Her suit alleges being ticketed for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle amounts to malicious prosecution.
Harper is also suing Dunn's supervisor, Trooper Alan Johnson, and Col. William Bryant, the police director, in the lawsuit. Johnson and Bryant are also being represented by the attorney general.