MN trooper charged in deadly crash: Dashcam video shows previous wrecks
By: A Minnesota state trooper’s driving record is under the microscope after he was criminally charged for his role in a deadly car crash in Rochester while on duty earlier this year.
Olmsted County prosecutors have filed second-degree manslaughter, criminal vehicular homicide, and reckless driving charges against Trooper Shane Roper in connection to the fatal crash that claimed the life of 18-year-old Olivia Flores of Owatonna on May 18.
The victim’s family has questioned the trooper’s driving record, asking why he was allowed to operate a squad car given his history of state patrol policy violations while behind the wheel. FOX 9 has now obtained video from several prior crashes involving Trooper Roper that led to disciplinary consequences in four separate incidents.
In February 2019, Trooper Roper crashed into another squad. Records show the second trooper was hurt, both vehicles were significantly damaged, and Roper was reprimanded for violating policy.
Last year, squad video captured Roper losing control after exceeding 90 miles per hour on Highway 52 while attempting to chase after a speeding motorist. His car careened into the cable median barrier on a cloverleaf-like ramp while he did not have either his emergency lights or siren activated, according to personnel files reviewed by FOX 9. His actions resulted in a one-day, unpaid suspension.
"It does not make sense from an outside observer of how he could have continued to be put in a squad car without more controls on him, without more oversight of what he was doing," Dan McIntosh, a civil attorney for the Flores family, previously told FOX 9.
Flores was killed outside the Apache Mall during the early evening hours of May 18, when prosecutors allege Roper plowed into a busy intersection at a high rate of speed with no emergency lights or siren on, causing the deadly three-vehicle, chain-reaction crash. The Flores family lawyers appear prepared to take legal action against the State Patrol for allowing Roper behind the wheel given his driving history.
"Their hope and their desire is to keep everyone, and hold everyone accountable for their actions in terms of how we got to this point today where we have a trooper on the road who should not be on the road," attorney Tom Braun previously told FOX 9.
Trooper Roper is not in custody. He is due in court for a first appearance on the felony charges on August 29. He remains on paid investigative leave with the State Patrol. His attorney, Eric Nelson, declined to comment for this story.