Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar is calling on parents and caregivers to put the safety of children first and pull over for law enforcement, following a string of recent pursuits in which suspects fled with kids in their vehicles.
“As a father, I cannot fathom a parent making the decision to drive recklessly, much less flee from law enforcement, with their children in the vehicle,” Hagar said. He added that recent pursuits have appalled both troopers and the public, and that the agency feels compelled to act to stop suspects from risking the lives of innocent children.
One of those pursuits unfolded the afternoon of Sunday, May 24, near Camden.
At about 3:15 p.m., an ASP trooper tried to stop a 2012 Toyota Highlander for a traffic violation. The driver refused to stop and a pursuit began. The trooper did not know children were inside.
The Highlander reached speeds topping 100 mph as it left the Camden city limits and headed south on Ouachita County Road 47, passing multiple vehicles and swerving into oncoming traffic. A trooper made two unsuccessful Tactical Vehicle Intervention attempts to end the chase.
After a lengthy pursuit, the driver lost control in a curve, left the roadway, traveled through a yard, struck a light pole and overturned.
A trooper immediately secured a 4-month-old infant who had been unrestrained and was ejected from the vehicle. Troopers then worked quickly to pull three other children, all under the age of 6, from the wreck, which had come to rest dangerously close to live electrical wires.
“I could not be more proud of the way our troopers performed their duties that day,” said Troop F Capt. Rick Neill. He said the suspect’s decisions placed four innocent victims in harm’s way, that the driver could have stopped at any point during the pursuit, and that troopers put the children’s lives ahead of their own safety.
All four children were taken by ambulance to Ouachita County Medical Center, where they were evaluated and treated for minor injuries. The children’s mother was notified and went to the hospital.
The driver, 28-year-old Tyrice Fletcher of El Dorado, was taken into custody and booked into the Ouachita County Detention Center.
Troopers who searched the vehicle reported finding a defaced firearm and illegal marijuana. Fletcher, a convicted felon, faces charges of felony fleeing, possession of a defaced firearm, possession of a firearm by certain persons, four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, four counts of no child passenger restraint, reckless driving, no driver’s license, no seatbelt and improper passing on the left.
Hagar said the danger to the public is immediate and serious when a suspect chooses to flee at high speeds, and that troopers act as quickly as possible to protect other motorists. He said the agency stands by its pursuit policies and will continue to hold offenders accountable, adding that suspects who flee with children in their vehicles should be punished accordingly.