The patrol car turned on lights and sirens to stop the driver. After he saw the patrol car's lights, the driver, Sam Salter, drove almost a mile east on the 94, exited the freeway, then pulled over. As he was slowing down, the officer, Patrol Sgt. Carrie Rindal rammed his van with her car, and arrested him at gunpoint. Salter spent two nights in jail.
He says he was looking for somewhere safe to stop. And that he was "obviously slowing down and pulling over". She says that he was attempting to flee.
After reviewing video shot from the patrol car, and other evidence, Ramsey County has dropped the charges for fleeing, leaving Salter with a ticket for making an illegal lane change.
Looking at the video footage, it does appear that he's slowing down as his car is rammed. And the safety issue is a reasonable concern. Around 10 police officers are killed every year from being struck by vehicles, and the side of a freeway is one of the most dangerous places for an officer to be. Plenty of cars stopped on the side of the freeway are also hit by passing motorists, with several more fatalities a year. On the other hand, when a driver doesn't stop, a police officer has to assume the worst. We've all heard stories of people being shot for not stopping for police - probably unlikely in this situation but we've all heard enough tales to make us think twice about doing anything that may be perceived as attempting to outrun a police car.
What do you think? Both parties claim they did the right thing, but should he have stopped sooner, on the freeway shoulder? Should she have rammed his car? Or are they both wrong?
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