Dead woman’s family files federal lawsuit against ex-trooper charged in Rochester collision

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A federal lawsuit against the former state trooper involved in a fatal crash that killed 18-year-old Olivia Flores revealed multiple instances of speeding earlier in his shift, inaccuracies in his statement to police and a joke made to fellow troopers at the scene.

Flores died on May 18 in Rochester while riding in the back seat of a vehicle driven by her friend. The vehicle was struck by the squad car of since-fired Minnesota state trooper Shane Roper.

Roper is currently facing nine criminal charges in Olmsted County District Court, including one count of second-degree manslaughter, one count of criminal vehicular homicide and three counts of criminal vehicular operation, all felonies. He is also facing two gross misdemeanor counts of criminal vehicular operation, one count of gross misdemeanor reckless driving and one count of misdemeanor careless driving.

On Dec. 12, Flores’ parents filed a lawsuit against Roper, alleging he violated her constitutional rights and wrongfully caused their daughter’s death.

The lawsuit references multiple incidents captured on Roper’s body-worn camera footage, detailing his behaviors before and after the fatal collision.

The Rochester Post Bulletin attempted to obtain the footage referenced in the lawsuit. However, according to Minnesota statutes, active criminal investigative data collected by law enforcement is confidential. The data will be accessible to the public once an investigation becomes inactive or if it is presented in court.

Before the crash

According to the lawsuit, Roper’s shift began at 2 p.m. on May 18. He was scheduled to work a speed enforcement saturation shift, looking for speed, seat belt and phone use violations, for the first four hours.

Around 3:13 p.m., Roper observed a possible traffic violation on U.S. 52 and accelerated to a top speed of 116 mph with no emergency lights or siren activated. He eventually turned his lights on to stop the vehicle. The driver received a warning for speeding at 76 mph.

Thirty minutes later, Roper received a call that a man had his finger stuck in a machine. While driving on rural two-lane roads, he reached speeds of 107 mph in a 45 mph zone, 119 mph in a 55 mph zone and 135 mph in another 55 mph zone. He told his ride-along passenger that these speeds were “normal” for him, court documents say.

At 4:40 p.m., Roper accelerated to 99 mph on Highway 52 with no emergency lights while pursuing a vehicle with an expired license plate registration. The driver also received a seat belt ticket. Fifteen minutes later, he issued another seat belt ticket after accelerating to 107 mph on Highway 52.

Twenty minutes before the fatal crash, Roper activated his emergency lights while accelerating on Highway 52. He turned them off when he reached 98 mph and continued to accelerate to 105 mph. He eventually stopped a vehicle on 12th Street Southwest.

In an interview with Rochester police after the crash, Roper said that during those minutes leading up to the crash, he saw a white sedan weaving past and between other motorists, which is when he activated his lights but not his sirens.

Roper later told Rochester police that he did not obtain a speed reading of the white sedan despite having a LIDAR, a tool used by law enforcement to measure the speed of other vehicles. According to the lawsuit, he told police that he “assumed” the white sedan was still speeding once it was on 12th Street Southwest although he lost sight of it.

Around 5:42 p.m., Roper turned his squad car lights off when he reached 69 mph after he crossed the crest of the roadway on 12th Street Southwest, moments before his squad car collided with the Ford Focus at the intersection of 12th Street Southwest and Apache Drive Southwest.

After the crash

Roper’s squad car collided with the Ford Focus around 5:45 p.m., according to RPD’s press release in May.

According to the criminal complaint, Roper was traveling 83 mph in a 40 mph zone. Witnesses told police that the oncoming vehicle was “flying” and said they did not see or hear emergency lights or a siren, according to the complaint.

Due to the speed, Roper was unable to brake or maneuver his squad car to avoid the collision, the investigation found. The impact sent both cars eastbound through the intersection to collide with a Toyota Rav4. The criminal complaint said Roper’s vehicle was traveling “at least” 55 mph when his squad car struck the Ford Focus that Flores was a passenger in.

After the crash, Roper told troopers he had his lights on. His body-worn camera footage shows otherwise, the lawsuit says.

Although Roper described the white sedan’s movement as weaving through three lanes of Highway 52, the movement isn’t visible on Roper’s squad camera or body-worn camera footage, the lawsuit says.

Immediately after colliding with the Ford Focus that Flores was in, the lawsuit says, Roper’s body-worn camera footage showed him turn the squad car’s lights and sirens on.

However, in a statement to the Rochester Police Department, Roper said he believed he had his lights activated before he struck the vehicle.

Thirty minutes after the crash, Roper’s body-worn camera footage recorded him talking to three Minnesota State Patrol troopers about what happened when he drove through the intersection.

“I had my lights on,” he told them.

During the same interaction, Roper also said, “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

Roper later told police that the Ford Focus did a slight “nosedive,” indicating that it was stopping. He said he saw the Ford Focus’ hood come up, like it was accelerating, as it started to turn left through the intersection in the seconds before the crash.

According to footage from Scheels, the Ford Focus was stopped for 18 seconds and did not begin turning left until traffic cleared.

The lawsuit says Roper likely could not have seen the vehicle do a “nosedive” because he was at a speed “grossly exceeding the other vehicles and without any emergency lights activated.”

Roper’s next court date in the criminal case is Feb. 12.