Arkansas State Police officials say a trooper has retired after he crashed his vehicle into the wrong car during a pursuit.
The incident happened on Sunday on Interstate 40. At around 8:30 p.m., the trooper performed a tactile vehicle intervention (TVI), also called a PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver, “in error” during a pursuit near mile marker 265.
Authorities said the trooper had been in pursuit of two vehicles traveling faster than 100 mph. One of the vehicles being chased was a white, four-door sedan.
Unfortunately, the trooper in pursuit misidentified a bystander’s vehicle as the suspect’s car and executed the PIT maneuver, crashing into the wrong car and bringing it to a halt.
Dashcam footage of the pursuit shows the trooper’s car traveling at high speed on I-40 in pursuit of the suspects. The trooper passes several cars before his vehicle approaches the white sedan, which flashes its brake lights as the trooper draws near.
But as the white car slows down, the trooper rams his vehicle into the rear left side of the car, sending it flying into the shoulder of the highway.
Both the driver and a passenger in the stopped vehicle were uninjured and declined medical treatment, authorities said.
A PIT maneuver is a pursuit tactic used by law enforcement to stop suspects in a fleeing vehicle. The maneuver involves the pursuing police officer using his vehicle to bump the suspect’s vehicle on the side near a rear wheel, which causes the vehicle in front to spin out of control and stop.
An internal investigation is ongoing.
