Two men are facing felony charges after allegedly assaulting Arkansas State Police troopers in separate incidents during traffic stops within a week, authorities confirmed.
On Sunday evening, a trooper stopped 19-year-old Jaime Mena-Najera on U.S. Highway 62 in Benton County after reports of reckless driving. During the stop, Mena-Najera allegedly assaulted the trooper and fled on foot, according to Arkansas State Police. The trooper sustained a laceration and contusion near his eye and an abrasion to his arm. He was treated at Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville and later released. Early Monday afternoon, police located and arrested Mena-Najera. He has been booked into the Benton County Detention Center on charges of second-degree battery and escape.
Just days earlier, on Thursday, a second incident unfolded on Interstate 55 near Burdette in Mississippi County. A trooper stopped a Chevrolet Equinox for a traffic violation and attempted to detain the driver, 36-year-old Pedro Gonzalez of Luxora, who was subject to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer. Gonzalez allegedly resisted arrest and attempted to grab the trooper’s firearm. Police said two passengers ran into a wooded area, followed moments later by Gonzalez. Authorities later found all three about 200 yards from the site, hiding near a ditch embankment.
Gonzalez was treated for injuries at a hospital in Little Rock before being taken to the Mississippi County Detention Center. He faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing, resisting arrest, no proof of insurance, and driving without a license. Officials confirmed that the trooper was not injured during the incident.
The assaults come during ongoing scrutiny of Arkansas State Police policies regarding use of force in traffic stop scenarios, following recent viral videos of interactions involving troopers. In an Aug. 19 pursuit in Blytheville, dashcam footage showed Trooper Theodore Henderson breaking the rear window of an SUV, forcibly removing a passenger, and striking him in the face. The passenger, Tedrick Washington, 23, was later charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental operations. Earlier in the month, 18-year-old Alisa Hackett filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging excessive force by Trooper Moisses Arellano during an Aug. 1 traffic stop near Manila. Dashcam footage of the interaction shows Arellano taking Hackett to the ground and striking her while attempting to handcuff her.
The Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus, the NAACP Arkansas State Conference, and attorney Ben Crump have called for independent investigations into these use-of-force incidents. Arkansas State Police stated that all force instances undergo internal review, though no further comment was made on the recent assaults involving troopers.
Both investigations into last week's incidents are ongoing.