Trooper Punched 18-Year-Old During Arrest Near Manila, State Police Use-of-Force Report Shows

MANILA, Ark. — An Arkansas State Police trooper took an 18-year-old Osceola woman to the ground and punched her in the face during an arrest that followed a late-night traffic stop near Manila on Aug. 1, according to the trooper’s own use-of-force report — an encounter, captured on police video, that has since drawn national attention and calls for an investigation.

The incident involved Trooper Moisses Arellano and Alisa N. Hackett, 18. The use-of-force report was first obtained and published by NEA Report, a northeast Arkansas news outlet, along with police video of the stop.

The stop

According to the report, Arellano was assisting another trooper at a gas station on Arkansas Highway 18 around 10:42 p.m. on Aug. 1 when he saw a car heading west with its hazard lights flashing, passing other traffic. He estimated the car was going about 60 mph in a 40 mph zone, and after catching up to it outside Manila, recorded a radar reading of 71 mph in a 60 mph zone.

Arellano stopped Hackett roughly three miles east of the Highway 18/Highway 119 intersection. She told him her window was broken and she was trying to get home, the report states.

During the stop, the trooper reported that Hackett was not wearing a seat belt, that her license plate was obscured by a cover, and that a cold, unopened bottle of liquor sat on the front passenger seat. Her license showed she was under 21.

Arellano initially handled the stop with citations — speeding, no seat belt, and possession of alcohol by a minor — and told Hackett her license would be confiscated and replaced with a temporary permit.

The escalation

What began as a paper stop turned into an arrest after Hackett signed the citations. Arellano described her as upset during the exchange and wrote that he asked whether she was trying to go to jail; she reportedly answered that if she had wanted to go to jail, she would not have stopped.

The trooper then contacted a colleague and learned Hackett had allegedly been stopped days earlier for speeding and found with an open container — an encounter that ended with a verbal warning after she was allowed to pour out the alcohol. Arellano wrote that he decided another citation would not adequately address the repeated alcohol possession and chose to arrest her instead.

Hackett stepped out of the car without incident, according to the report. But when Arellano tried to take hold of her left hand, he wrote, she turned toward him, repeatedly asked what she had done, and pulled her arms away. Arellano took her to the ground and ordered her to roll over. When she did not comply, he wrote, he “delivered one closed-fist strike to the left side of her face.”

Arellano then drew his Taser and placed its laser sight across Hackett’s belt line without firing. She rolled over and put her hands behind her back, the report states. The trooper reported she continued pulling away as he walked her to his patrol vehicle, prompting him to pin her against the hood while she yelled for passing motorists to call her mother.

Hackett requested an ambulance. EMS personnel found no visible injuries, though she complained of leg pain from being taken to the ground, according to the report. She was booked into the Mississippi County Detention Center.

The report lists allegations of refusal to submit to arrest, possession of alcohol by a person under 21, speeding, failure to wear a seat belt, improper display of a license plate, and a vehicle lamp violation. As with any arrest, the allegations are accusations, and Hackett is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

National attention

Video of the stop spread rapidly after its publication last week. Dashcam audio captures Hackett telling the trooper he cannot punch her — and Arellano dismissing the objection and warning he would do it again if she did not turn around.

By the weekend, the footage had been amplified nationally, including by civil rights attorney Ben Crump and commentator Van Jones, and picked up by national outlets. Hackett, who is Black, has become the focus of an organized social media campaign urging the public to file complaints with the Arkansas State Police Professional Standards Office in Little Rock and demand a full investigation of Arellano’s use of force.

Arkansas State Police has not publicly announced whether Arellano remains on active duty or whether the agency’s Office of Professional Standards has opened an internal investigation.

The central question raised by the footage — whether a closed-fist punch to the face of an unarmed teenager resisting handcuffs was a reasonable use of force — will likely be answered, if at all, through any internal review, court proceedings, or civil litigation that follows.

Arkansas Breaking News will update this story as more information becomes available.

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An Arkansas State Police trooper punched an 18-year-old Osceola woman in the face during an arrest near Manila — and his own use-of-force report confirms it. The Aug. 1 traffic stop, captured on police video, has drawn national attention, with Ben Crump and Van Jones among those amplifying the footage. Here’s what the report says happened. ⬇️

Alternate headlines

• Use-of-Force Report: Trooper Punched Osceola Teen in Face During Arrest Near Manila
• “I’ll Do It Again”: Trooper’s Punch of 18-Year-Old During Mississippi County Stop Draws National Outcry
• Arkansas Trooper’s Punch of Osceola Teen During Traffic Stop Goes Viral as Complaints Mount