An allegedly impaired driver battled with an Arkansas State Police trooper during a July traffic stop, grabbing the trooper's TASER and tossing the weapon onto the interstate before the trooper shot and wounded the suspect.
Trooper Alexandria Duncan was cleared Wednesday of any wrongdoing in connection with the July 27 incident along Interstate 49 in Rogers, KFSM-TV reports. Benton County Prosecutor Joshua Robinson also released dashboard camera footage of the stop with the suspect, Angel Zapet-Alvarado, 26.
According to police, Duncan pulled over Zapet-Alvarado at about 7:45 p.m. beacause he was "traveling at a high rate of speed in heavy traffic." Zapet-Alvarado refused to get out of his car, and the dashcam footage shows Duncan opening Zapet-Alvarado's door, tossing out his keys and trying to pull him out of the vehicle.
A struggle ensued, and Duncan was finally able to get Zapet-Alvarado out of the car, tasing him in the process. He continues to resist arrest, and a bystander can be seen in the video trying to assist Duncan.
During the struggle, Zapet-Alvarado grabbed Duncan's TASER and tossed it into traffic. The bystander then retrieved the weapon at Duncan's behest.
In the video, Zapet-Alvarado is seen overpowering Duncan, and the bystander becomes involved in the altercation.
"We're never going to direct a civilian to put themselves in harm's way again," Col. Mike Hagar, who heads the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, told KFSM. "That's our job, to put ourselves between harm and the citizens. But in a situation like this, she saw someone in need, and she stopped to help. She put herself in that situation."
Finally, Duncan fired her weapon, and Zapet-Alvarado was struck in the right temple. He was rushed to the hospital and was arrested after he was released. Duncan also was injured in the incident, but those injuries weren't considered life-threatening.
Zapet-Alvarado's blood-alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal limit. Cannabinoids also were detected.
"We now know that all of her instincts were correct and that the suspect was twice the legal limit in blood alcohol, and also had other intoxicating substances in his blood system," said Hagar. "I can see where someone may question the tactics that were used, but for any police officer or state trooper that watched that video, and they take in the totality of the circumstances, it's completely understandable to them why she did what she did."
