{"id":93569,"date":"2026-07-09T21:31:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T01:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dover-woman-arrested-after-viral-traffic-stop-video-sparks-dsp-review\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T21:31:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T01:31:25","slug":"dover-woman-arrested-after-viral-traffic-stop-video-sparks-dsp-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dover-woman-arrested-after-viral-traffic-stop-video-sparks-dsp-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Dover Woman Arrested After Viral Traffic Stop Video Sparks DSP Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Delaware State Police say they are aware of a video spreading across social media that shows a traffic stop and arrest in Dover \u2014 and they want the public to know what led up to what was captured on camera.<\/p>

The incident took place on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at around 6:05 p.m., when a trooper pulled over a Mercury Grand Marquis near S. Bay Road and Lafferty Lane in Dover. A computer check had flagged the vehicle’s registration as suspended due to an uninsured motorist violation.<\/p>

The trooper spoke with the driver, identified as 38-year-old Sierra Hopkins of Dover, along with four juvenile passengers in the vehicle. During that conversation, it was discovered that Hopkins’ driver’s license was also suspended \u2014 and that she had already been stopped and cited by Delaware State Police just five days earlier for the same violations. Hopkins acknowledged that her insurance had been canceled but said she was in the process of getting it resolved.<\/p>

Based on their initial exchange, the trooper told Hopkins he would issue her traffic citations but would not have her vehicle towed \u2014 even though department policy called for it under the circumstances. A verbal dispute then broke out between Hopkins and the trooper. She was ultimately handed a citation and drove away.<\/p>

After returning to his patrol vehicle, the trooper reconsidered and determined that, per divisional policy, the car should have been towed after all. He then conducted a second traffic stop, pulling Hopkins over in the left-turn lane on E. Lebanon Road near the entrance to a McDonald’s \u2014 the location visible in the social media video.<\/p>

The trooper informed Hopkins that he had changed his decision and that her vehicle would be towed. He asked her to move the car into the McDonald’s parking lot. Hopkins refused to move the vehicle and also refused orders to step out of the car. The trooper then attempted to physically remove her, but Hopkins grabbed onto the steering wheel to resist. The trooper drew his taser, at which point Hopkins got out of the vehicle on her own.<\/p>

When Hopkins refused a verbal order to lie on the ground, the trooper used physical force to bring her to the ground in order to take her into custody. Hopkins continued to resist, kicking the trooper and scratching his face with her fingernails. The trooper responded with defensive strikes and stepped back to deploy his taser. Additional troopers arrived and assisted in taking Hopkins into custody.<\/p>

Hopkins was transported to Troop 3, where she was charged, arraigned by the Justice of the Peace Court, and held at the Delaware Department of Correction on a $10,000 cash bond. She faces the following charges:<\/p>