Arkansas State Police K9 "GEK" APPREHENDS & BITES fleeing suspect following pursuit #chase #k9

Trooper's Narrative:

On 03/02/2024 at approximately 2:25 P.M. I, Trooper First Class Trevor Dew was patrolling State Highway 299 south of Emmet
when I observed a grey Chevrolet Malibu traveling southbound. As the vehicle met me, I noticed the male operator of the
vehicle was not wearing his seatbelt. I turned around and attempted to catch up to the vehicle in order to conduct a traffic stop
for the violation. As I approached the intersection of State Highways 299 and 174, I did not see the vehicle. I turned right to
continue on 299 to see if the vehicle had gotten on Interstate 30. I did not see the vehicle on either side of the interstate but did
notice a large amount of dust on Hempstead County Road 53 directly across the Interstate. I continued onto Hempstead 53 and
was able to see the grey Malibu turn left to travel westbound on Hempstead 210.

The vehicle appeared to be traveling at a high
rate of speed at this time. Once I turned onto Hempstead 210, I was able to lock the vehicle's speed with my front radar
antenna at 87 miles per hour. The speed limit on Hempstead County Roads 53 and 210 is 45 miles-per-hour. As the vehicle
slowed to make a left-hand turn, I activated my emergency lights and sirens. I made the left-hand curve and showed the
vehicle's speed to be at 75 miles per hour. At this time, I notified Troop G Dispatch that I was in pursuit of the vehicle. As I was
notifying Troop G, the vehicle drove through a gate and entered a cattle pasture on the south side of Hempstead 210. The
vehicle continued approximately one quarter of a mile, crossing a cattle guard, and hitting a gate that had been lying on the
ground. Once the vehicle struck the gate, the operator, later identified as Steven Clark, exited the vehicle from the driver’s seat,
and began to flee on foot. I exited my vehicle, gave Clark commands to stop, and told him he would be bitten by my canine
partner. Clark jumped over a barbed wire fence and continued to flee westbound, into a large patch of woods. At this time, I
deployed my canine partner Gek from my patrol unit and pursued Clark into the woods. Due to the location, the manner of the
fleeing, and residences in the direction of Clark’s fleeing, I gave the override command to my canine partner to have him
apprehend Clark. Canine Gek apprehended Clark approximately 300 yards from the vehicles. Clark was bitten on the left leg,
near his knee. Once Clark was apprehended by Gek, I approached Clark and saw he had both hands around Gek’s neck. I
instructed Clark several times to let go of Gek and get on his stomach. Clark refused and continued to hold Gek’s neck. I
grabbed Clark’s right hand in an attempt to remove it from Gek and roll him to his stomach. Clark pulled away and again
grabbed Gek’s neck. I then struck Clark with a closed fist two times on the left side of his head. This caused Clark to release
Gek and raise his hands. I was then able to put Clark on his stomach and place him in handcuffs. Once Clark was in handcuffs,

I removed Gek from his leg and moved him away from Clark. Shortly after, Sergeant Peek arrived and escorted Clark out of the
woods and back to the vehicles. Pafford Ambulance Service was contacted to check Clark’s injuries. While waiting for Pafford
to arrive, I was informed by a Hempstead County Deputy of them locating a black bag in the road where I had been pursuing
Clark. The bag was clean and had not been on the road long, evident by the bag only having a small amount of dust on it.

There was no traffic at the time of the pursuit or after Clark was taken into custody. Inside the bag I located syringes, (of the
same style located in the car), a small baggie of marijuana, and one plastic baggie containing approximately 7.5 grams of
suspected methamphetamine. A search of the vehicle produced a glass pipe with a burnt bulb on the end (found in the
operator’s floorboard), several torch-style lighters, an open bag of syringes, and marijuana residue. Clark was transported to
Wadley Regional Medical Center in Hope by Pafford. Clark received 18 stitches in his left leg and was transported to the
Hempstead County Detention Facility where he is being held for a first appearance.

Clark is charged with:

Speeding – more than 15 mph over limit,
Driving on suspended license,
No seatbelt,
Improper display of license tags,
Fleeing – vehicle or conveyance – exceeding the speed limit,
Fleeing – on foot,
Possess controlled substance schedule I,II Meth 2g 10,
Possess controlled substance schedule VI 4 ounces,
Possess drug paraphernalia,
Tampering with physical evidence – impair Pros or Def of felony.

Clark also had a Failure to Appear warrant with the Hempstead County
Sheriff's Office and the Hope Police Department.