Arkansas State Police respond to dash cam footage of officer-involved shooting

ROGERS, Ark. – Dash cam footage released on Wednesday by Arkansas State Police shows a traffic stop that quickly turned into an officer-involved shooting that ended with the arrest of a 26-year-old man from Guatemala.

Dash cam footage shows blue lights and a pursuit that Arkansas State Police say started after a car flew by trooper Alexandria Duncan going 114 miles per hour on the night of July 27 on southbound I-49 near Rogers.

A minute and a half into the video the car comes to a stop. Duncan orders the driver, Angel Zapet-Alverado out of the vehicle.

Investigators said Duncan reached inside the vehicle to take the keys when the two began to struggle.

FOX 16 News asked Colonel Mike Hagar with Arkansas State Police if opening the door of a suspect’s vehicle is typical protocol.

“No, it’s not,” Hagar replied.

Hagar said because of certain red flags, like the excessive speeding and the time the driver took to stop the car, she approached the vehicle in that manner.

“In that situation she wanted that to remain right there, she didn’t want it turned into a vehicle pursuit or anything else,” Hagar said.

She used her taser until Zapet-Alverado wrestled it out of her hands and threw it into traffic. State police said during the struggle Duncan was also kicked in the head multiple times.

“We counted over 70 cars drove past and did not stop to render any type of aid, and they’re absolutely not expected to, however, then out of nowhere you have Kylie who shows up,” Hagar said.

Kylie Sutton, who was driving by, got the taser out of the road and hopped on the suspect’s back.

“We couldn’t be more thankful that Kylie showed up when she did,” Hagar said.

Trooper Duncan grazed the suspect in the head with a bullet when Hagar says she determined the use of deadly force was authorized.

Investigators said Zapet-Alvarado’s toxicology results indicate that his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

The defense attorney for Zapet-Alverado said he was unarmed, and the situation did not justify the use of deadly force.

“Alex was absolutely justified in what she did, she did what she was trained to do,” Hagar said.

“Two brave women, one who was doing that job she swore an oath to do and that other one just being a good human,” Hagar said.

The Benton County prosecutor announced Wednesday that Duncan’s use of force was consistent with Arkansas law.

Zapet-Alverado is Guatemalan and according to state police is illegally in the country.

He is currently in the Benton County Detention Center and has been placed on hold while awaiting Homeland Security.

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