Arkansas Trooper Accused of Punching and Cursing at Woman During Traffic Stop, Now Faces Lawsuit

An Arkansas woman is suing a state trooper after dashcam video showing him tackle and punch her during a traffic stop went viral over the weekend.

ABC affiliate KATV reported on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, that Alisa Hackett, 18, of Osceola, was pulled over on State Highway 18 near Manila just before 11 p.m. on August 1 after Trooper Moisses Arellano clocked her going 71 mph in a 60 mph zone with her hazard lights on.

According to the police report, Hackett told Arellano she was rushing home because her car window had broken.

Arellano noted she wasn’t wearing a seat belt, had her license plate covered, and had a sealed bottle of liquor in the front seat. “Why do you have a Tito’s bottle? You’re not even 21?” Arellano can be heard saying on the dashcam footage, before later acknowledging the bottle was sealed.

After learning from another trooper that Hackett had received only a warning for a similar stop days earlier, Arellano decided to arrest her, as per the outlet.

Video shows the encounter escalate quickly once she stepped out of the vehicle. “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 own report, as per CBS News.

In the footage, Hackett can be heard telling him, “You cannot punch me in my face,” to which Arellano replies, “Who said I can’t punch you in your face?” He later warns her, “I’ll punch you again if you don’t [expletive] turn around.”

Hackett’s complaint against Arellano in the lawsuit lays out six separate counts, ranging from constitutional violations to state-level claims of retaliation and battery, according to KATV.

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump — who is representing the family of Nolan Wells amid the teenager’s mysterious death — has since been retained to represent Hackett and is calling on Arkansas State Police to launch a public use-of-force investigation.

Sharing a statement on Instagram on August 10, Crump wrote, “An Arkansas State Police trooper slammed 18-year-old Alisa to the ground and punched her in the face. He wrote it down himself: a closed-fist strike because she would not roll onto her stomach. Alisa asked what she had done, and the video shows what happened after she asked.”

He went on to highlight what Hackett had been working toward before the incident: “This young woman is planning to enlist in the U.S. Navy, and instead of preparing for the next chapter of her life, she is now dealing with the aftermath of this encounter.”

Crump closed with a direct call for accountability. “Arkansas State Police must explain to the public how this level of force was a reasonable response to a teenager during a traffic stop. If an officer cannot handle an 18-year-old girl without taking her to the ground, cursing at her, and punching her in the face, then we have a serious problem.”

In a separate statement posted to X today, a day after the video began gaining traction on social media and igniting national outrage, Crump wrote, “An 18-year-old girl should NEVER be taken to the ground and punched in the face during a traffic stop. Arkansas State Police must fully investigate the use of force against Alisa Hackett and give the public CLEAR answers about why this happened!”

Arellano has not been placed on administrative leave, according to CBS affiliate WKRC. Arkansas State Police are conducting an internal review.

The NAACP released an official statement on the incident today, calling for an independent investigation.

“After reviewing the police video and Arkansas State Police use-of-force report, we are deeply concerned by how a traffic stop involving nonviolent offenses escalated into an arrest in which Ms. Hackett was taken to the pavement and struck in the face by a state trooper,” their statement said. “The public deserves to know why this encounter escalated and whether the force used was necessary and consistent with Arkansas State Police policy.”