ROCHESTER, Minn. — When Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Shane Roper hit the Ford Focus carrying 18-year-old Olivia Flores at a busy Rochester intersection in May, he was driving 83 miles per hour, full-throttle, with his lights and sirens turned off, according to the criminal complaint.
The attorneys for the Flores family say the trooper did so with a 20-year-old passenger who was a law enforcement student.
"Which again begs the question of why the patrol is putting law enforcement students in a car with an individual with this track record," attorney Dan McIntosh said.
Trooper Roper's track record includes two suspensions and two letters of reprimand.
In 2019, he injured another Trooper in a crash.
In 2021, he crashed into another driver who had the right of way in one instance. In another, he hit a deer while speeding 22 miles per hour over the speed limit without using his lights and siren.
In 2023, Trooper Roper lost control and crashed while chasing a speeder -- again without using his lights and sirens.
Now, Trooper Roper is charged with manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide for killing Flores while allegedly chasing another speeder and once again without using his emergency signals.
"You know, it just looks like a time bomb, an individual driving this way something bad is going to happen. And the worst possible thing did happen, he took Olivia's life and that was entirely avoidable," said Attorney Tom Braun.
Olivia, a beloved Owatonna High School cheerleader, was two weeks from graduation. Her parents turned her grad party into a memorial -- a celebration of life.
"It's just shocking to wrap your mind around that this individual was allowed to continue to be out on the road in the midst of a speeding crackdown the Department of Public Safety was very quick to publicize," McIntosh said.
Trooper Roper is on administrative leave, which is standard, but the State Patrol did put out a statement saying ,"The conduct alleged in the criminal complaint is concerning and does not align with the State Patrol's core values."
Roper will be in court next month.
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