Newly released footage of an officer tackling an 18-year-old Black woman to the ground and punching her in the head after a traffic stop in Arkansas is causing anger and demands for a use-of-force investigation. The incident, which has drawn national attention, centers on the conduct of Arkansas State Trooper Moisses Arellano during an encounter with 18-year-old Alisa Hackett of Osceola, Arkansas.
Hackett was pulled over on State Highway 18 near Manila at approximately 10:45 p.m. on August 1. According to the official Arkansas State Police report, the stop was initiated after Hackett was observed driving 71 mph in a 60-mph zone with her vehicle’s hazard lights activated. Upon being stopped, Hackett informed Trooper Arellano that she was rushing home because her car’s window had been broken.
During the interaction, Arellano noted that Hackett was not wearing a seat belt, had her license plate covered, and possessed a cold bottle of liquor in the front seat. In the dashcam footage, Arellano can be heard questioning her, stating, “Why do you have a Tito’s bottle, you’re not even 21?” Later in the recording, the trooper acknowledges that the bottle was, in fact, sealed.
The situation escalated when Arellano described Hackett as “being difficult” while he issued citations. He contacted another trooper, who noted that Hackett had been stopped for speeding just days earlier and had been found with an open alcohol container, though she was released with a warning at that time. The other trooper is heard on the dashcam audio telling Arellano, “Well, she got an attitude, take her ass to jail.”
Arellano subsequently decided to arrest Hackett, who is 5-foot-1 and 118 pounds, and ordered her to exit the vehicle. While she initially complied, the police report states that she began turning around and repeatedly asked what she had done. As she continued to pull away from the officer, Arellano took her to the ground. Alisa asked him what she had done, and the video shows what she got for asking.
“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 his report. He noted that after the strike, she continued resisting by pulling her wrists away. He then pointed a stun gun at her midsection but did not discharge it; she eventually complied by putting her hands behind her back.
In the video, Hackett is heard protesting, “You cannot punch me in my face.” Arellano responds, “Who said? Who says? Who said I can’t punch you in your face?” As he escorted her to his patrol car, Hackett yelled for help and asked to call her mother. While inside the vehicle, Arellano told her, “If you resist, I can punch you, I can read you the policy.”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has called on the Arkansas State Police to launch a formal use-of-force investigation through its Office of Professional Standards. Crump demanded that the agency make the findings public and release any previous use-of-force reports involving Arellano. “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 stated.
“Arkansas State Police have to explain to the public how that is a reasonable response to a teenager at a traffic stop,” Crump added. “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 formally arrested on charges including refusal to submit to arrest, possession of alcohol by a minor, speeding, failure to wear a seat belt, improper display of license tags, and improper headlights. Attorney Luther Sutter initially filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force on Hackett’s behalf, though Sutter later noted he received a letter from Hackett indicating she was switching her representation to Crump.
The Arkansas Department of Public Safety declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing a long-held practice of not discussing matters pending litigation. The department did not clarify whether Trooper Arellano remains on active duty. Jason Allen contributed to this report.
