Arkansas State Trooper Sued By 18-Year-Old Woman After Violent Arrest Goes Viral

The 18-year-old motorist who was punched and thrown to the ground by an Arkansas State Trooper in a violent arrest is punching back ... because she's suing him.

Alisa Hackett filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Trooper Moisses Arellano, claiming he struck her face during an August 1 traffic stop because she talked back to him.

Hackett says the use of force was NOT justified ... she claims she was unarmed, posed no threat to the trooper or anyone else, had no means of escape and was suspected of no more than a minor traffic offense.

She has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is also representing the family of 18-year-old Nolan Wells ... among others.

Hackett claims Arellano hit her because she questioned him, objected to his actions and declined to be silent.

Her lawsuit says "a closed-fist blow to the face of an unarmed eighteen-year-old girl is not a permissible answer to speech, and it is not a permissible answer to a detainee who pulls her arm away during handcuffing."

Hackett says she suffered pain and bruising, and was charged with a crime to cover up how Arellano allegedly "struck a teenage girl in the face for talking to him."

She is asking for compensatory damages and punitive damages, claiming Arellano used excessive force and unreasonable seizure. She also says Arellano violated her First Amendment rights to free speech when she questioned him and abused the process by filing criminal charges against her.

Crump has called on the Arkansas State Police to launch a use-of-force probe to try to hold Arellano accountable. Crump says Hackett was originally booked in jail for improper display of tags, a restriction on vehicle lamps, no seatbelt, purchase or possession of alcohol by a minor, and refusal to submit to arrest.

The NAACP released a statement on the incident, demanding an independent investigation.