Arkansas State Police defend PIT maneuvers as cases rise

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – WREG investigators sat down with Arkansas State Police to weigh the balance between frightening car chases, keeping bad guys off the road and who gets caught in the middle.

If you see blue lights in your rearview mirror, you can stop immediately, but some drivers don’t do this.

What happens next can be fatal in some cases. From car chases to police PIT maneuvers, you can see it all for yourself when YouTube videos surface.

When Arkansas State Police are on the trail of a suspect, they may perform a so-called PIT maneuver, a precision immobilization technique also known as TVI, or Tactical Vehicle Intervention.

Col. Mike Hagar, head of the ASP, describes the maneuver as a “linear movement that causes the suspect vehicle to rotate and come to a stop.”

“It’s extreme. The danger for the suspect is enormous. The danger to the soldier is extreme,” said Hagar.

Many people are now getting a close look at how these efforts are playing out. There are more and more videos on YouTube showing what happened and the ultimate consequences.

“If you have a video that shows the consequences of running away from the police, I think that can have a chilling effect,” said James Bozeman, who runs a YouTube channel called Natural State Transparency.

He says the videos, taken from state troopers’ car cameras and obtained through Freedom of Information requests, show what’s happening in real time, including when things go wrong.

“They have made it clear that if you flee from officers or a police officer in Arkansas and the Arkansas State Police become involved, it may result in you being subject to a PIT or TVI for speeding, and you know that this will have consequences.” for this. There is a risk of losing your vehicle. You could lose your health or your life,” Bozeman said.

Last December, a driver in West Memphis died after his car went over an embankment on I-40. According to state police, he was driving 140 miles per hour as the trooper prepared to conduct a TVI. The driver suddenly braked, causing a collision.

In another case, cops say Demarcus Clark fled a traffic stop on Interstate 40 last July. The soldier used a TVI. Clark’s vehicle collided with the officer’s vehicle, injuring the officer and killing Clark.

A chase in Forest City ended with an Arkansas State Trooper performing a PIT maneuver on the wrong car. This soldier eventually retired.

“There are examples where officers unfortunately rushed to a TVI only to find out it was the wrong vehicle,” Bozeman said.

Hager says that in such cases they would resort to training and retraining again.

“If our guys make mistakes, we will learn from them. We will hold them accountable,” Hagar said.

Lt. Col. Mike Kennedy is responsible for training the Arkansas State Police. He says all soldiers undergo 84 hours of training in vehicle operation and pursuit driving.

“It is absolutely not safe for our soldiers to use these techniques. But they swore an oath to protect the public. So they put themselves between the public and the fleeing suspect,” Kennedy said. “They’re trying to shake it up. And during the skid, the suspect vehicle usually stops.”

A pregnant woman whose car was struck by an Arkansas police officer is now suing for negligence and excessive force.

Nicole Harper says she put her blinkers on and looked for a safe place to pull over. The officer says she fled.

“There could have been a less dangerous and safer way than turning her vehicle around and sending it crashing off a concrete barrier at 60 miles per hour,” said Andrew Norwood, Harper’s attorney.

“Our training talks a lot about site selection. There are other factors that officers will consider to terminate or self-terminate a pursuit,” Hagar said.

This includes not pulling into oncoming traffic if you cannot keep up with the vehicle, the driver is driving recklessly and endangering innocent bystanders.

In 2016, Arkansas State Police conducted 32 PIT maneuvers, or TVIs. In 2023 there were 251. According to the ASP, its soldiers have also broken off chases or gotten away with them 654 times since 2016.

“The idea that we’re just cowboys and we’re going to chase them until this thing ends is not true,” Hagar said.

He says in more than 3,800 chases in eight years, no innocent civilians have died or been seriously injured, which he attributes to officers’ training and successful execution of the chases.

We asked for TVI numbers in Tennessee and Mississippi and are still waiting for them. But in Tennessee, we are told, TVIs are not common and are typically only used in cases of deadly force.

“It is common knowledge in many circles that if someone can evade Arkansas law enforcement and get over the (Interstate) 40 or 55 bridge into Memphis, if they can make it to Shelby County, they are doing well. Happens. Yes, I have examples of that,” Bozeman said.

Hargar says if the suspect crosses the river bridge and heads into Tennessee, he has the right to continue the pursuit, which in most cases he does.

“We are constantly looking for ways to make these situations safer. But at the end of the day, the way to make it safer is to stop running, you know, and that’s our message to the public: just stop running. It’s absolutely not worth it,” Hagar said.

The Arkansas State Police say they have a strategic campaign underway urging motorists not to flee and to stop when an officer is on their tail. They say sitting down with WREG was part of their effort to get the word out.