Viral Video Shows Arkansas Trooper Slam And Punch Black Teen

Listen: a “Back the blue” bootlicker will have you believe that when people express that they hate cops, it’s for no discernible reason. Those same people will argue that Black people are playing the “race card” when we complain that police officers are generally more aggressive when dealing with Black men, Black women and Black children than they tend to be with our white counterparts. And if we were to show them video footage that demonstrates this perfectly — like, say, a viral clip of a state trooper slamming a teenage Black girl to the ground when it clearly wasn’t necessary, and then punching said teen in the face — their knee-jerk reaction will always be to side with the violent cop, which, of course, is a sentiment that will ultimately be supported by the police department and other authorities as well.

You can test this theory out by showing the tongue-to-boot community this viral video of an Arkansas state trooper slamming and punching an 18-year-old Black woman, who had been pulled over for speeding before cops moved to arrest her, which seemed to be largely due to her having an “attitude.”

According to CBS News, 18-year-old Alisa Hackett, of Osceola, Arkansas, was pulled over on State Highway 18 near Manila at about 10:45 p.m. on Aug. 1. The officer who stopped her said he clocked her driving 71 mph in a 60-mph zone with the vehicle’s hazard lights on, according to an Arkansas State Police report, which also notes that Hackett told state trooper Moisses Arellano she was rushing home because her car’s window had broken.

Arellano also noted that Hackett was not wearing her seat belt and that her license plate was covered. All of these infractions are perfectly reasonable justifications for issuing a traffic ticket to the young motorist, but a reasonable, non-bootlicking person would agree there’s no reason to make an arrest, so far.

Well, it turns out Hackett also had a sealed bottle of liquor in the front seat. In dashcam footage, Arellano can be heard asking Hackett, “Why do you have a Tito’s bottle, you’re not even 21?” Later, he acknowledged that the bottle was sealed

According to CBS, a police report noted that Arellano described Hackett as “being difficult” when he issued her citations, which means he actually did cite her. So, why the arrest?

Well, at one point, another trooper came to the scene and claimed Hackett had been pulled over for speeding “a few days earlier” and had an open alcohol container in her vehicle, but was let go with a warning. It’s unclear whether that’s true or not. It is clear that being in possession of an open container is not the same as having a sealed container in the car, and, at any rate, the alcohol bottle was not the stated reason for Hackett’s arrest.

“Well, she got an attitude, take her ass to jail,” the second trooper to arrive at the scene said.

You know, it’s almost as if whether or not a routine traffic stop results in arrest often depends on whether a cop’s fragile, blue ego is bruised, and, again, we’re supposed to pretend their tolerance for backtalk isn’t significantly more limited when dealing with citizens of a complexion for lesser protection.

Oh, and speaking of bruises…

From CBS:

Arellano then decided to arrest Hackett, who is 5-foot-1 and 118 pounds, and asked her to step out of the car, according to the report. After initially complying, “she began turning around and repeatedly asked what she had done,” the police report said, adding she continued to pull away from the officer and he “took her to the ground.”

“After giving multiple commands for her to roll over without compliance, I delivered one closed-fist strike to the left side of her face in an attempt to gain compliance,” Arellano wrote in the report. “After the strike, she continued resisting by pulling her wrists away and refusing to roll over.”

He pointed a stun gun at her midsection, but did not fire, and she then complied in putting her hands behind her back and she was arrested, the report said.

In the video, Hackett can be heard saying, “You cannot punch me in my face.” Arellano responds, “Who said? Who says?” and then “Who said I can’t punch you in your face?”

So, just to recap: a cop pulled a Black teen over for what were common traffic infractions, decided she needed to be arrested because he and some other cop didn’t like her attitude, body-slammed her because she dared to hesitate with her compliance while inquiring as to why all this was necessary, punched her in the face because she didn’t comply fast enough, continued to manhandle her because she wasn’t perfectly manageable after being punched by a grown man, and then insisted that no authority or law prohibited him from punching her.

“If you resist, I can punch you; I can read you the policy,” Arellano can be heard copsplaining to Hackett as she sat in the back of his patrol car.

So, yeah — you don’t need to ask why people, especially Black people, dislike the police, you just have to use your eyes and ears and, perhaps, remove the boot from your mouth for added clarity.

Anyway, as usual, civil attorney Ben Crump is on the case.

“This trooper slammed an 18-year-old girl to the ground and punched her in the face. He wrote it down himself: a closed fist, because she would not roll onto her stomach,” Crump said in a statement. “Alisa asked him what she had done, and the video shows what she got for asking.”

“Arkansas State Police have to explain to the public how that is a reasonable response to a teenager at a traffic stop,” the statement continued. “If you cannot handle a teenage girl without taking her to the ground, cursing at her, and punching her in the face, you should not be wearing a badge.”

Hackett was charged with refusal to submit to arrest, possession of alcohol by a minor, speeding, not wearing a seat belt, improper display of license tags and an offense for improper headlights.

Meanwhile, on Monday, attorney Luther Sutter filed a civil rights lawsuit against Arellano on Hackett’s behalf, alleging he used excessive force when he arrested her. However, according to the NEA Report, Sutter’s office received a letter from Hackett saying Crump would be representing her.

Regardless of how all of this shakes out, it should be noted that as violent and completely overreaching as Arellano’s behavior was, it’s also common cop behavior, as was his lack of remorse and reliance on supposed legal justification for what he would have certainly known was an egregious act if it had happened to a teenage girl he cared about.

Yes, a lot of people hate cops. Right or wrong, don’t act like it’s for no reason.

SEE ALSO:

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