Police officer involved in 4 accidents in 8 years while on duty finally killed one person
A Minnesota state police officer pleaded guilty this week to nine counts of second-degree manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the death of a teenager. His notorious history of causing accidents while on duty has many in the community wondering why it took a tragic death to take the officer off the road.
Minnesota State Police Officer Shane Roper killed Olivia Flores, 18, on May 18, 2023, when his patrol car crashed into the car Flores was in. Roper was pursuing a vehicle suspected of a traffic violation when he hit Flores at 83 miles per hour without emergency lights or sirens.
This behavior was nothing new for Roper. Just over a year before killing Flores, police were involved in another accident. In fact, he had made dangerous driving a habit, having been cited for reckless driving four times in eight years, Tribune Star report:
On April 10, 2023, just over a year before the fatal crash, Roper was patrolling along a busy stretch of Highway 52 in Rochester when he spotted a driver suspected of speeding. Roper accelerated to more than 90 miles per hour before cutting across all lanes of the highway to follow the car down an on-ramp. He lost control of the patrol car, left the roadway and crashed into a cable barrier.
Investigators later determined that Roper had failed to turn on his emergency signals to alert other drivers, a violation of State Patrol policy. He was suspended for one day without pay for his actions.
“Officers are expected to operate department vehicles with exemplary driving behavior,” the complaint states. “Officer Roper’s excessive speed impeded his ability to safely exit the freeway.”
The 2023 incident was the latest in a series of reckless driving decisions by Roper.
In February 2019, Roper was given a written reprimand for reckless driving after his police vehicle collided with another state vehicle, causing significant damage to both vehicles and injuring the other driver.
Then, in May 2021, Roper was cited for hitting another driver with his vehicle after going through a stop sign without using his hazard lights. Roper claimed he did not see the stop sign, despite the fact that there was a “stop ahead” sign posted 400 feet from the intersection. He was suspended for one day without pay.
Later that year, Roper damaged his patrol car when he collided with a deer, resulting in another written reprimand. The report said Roper responded to a warrant for protection when he accelerated to 77 mph while traveling on snow-covered roads. He was cited for failing to notify dispatch of the call and failing to turn on his lights or siren.
The same day Roper killed Flores, he bragged about taking a “ride along” by reaching speeds of 135 mph without any urgent reason to do so. Along with the criminal charges, Roper and state police are facing a wrongful death lawsuit from Flores’ family, Forum report. They wanted to know why this threat was allowed to persist within the force; a very good question.
We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again (and again): stop all traffic stops.
