DOVER, Del. (WPVI) — Delaware State Police are investigating a controversial traffic stop making the rounds on social media.

The video shows a trooper forcing a woman out of her car, slamming her to the ground, punching and tasing her.

It happened on July 7, in Dover, Delaware.

But Delaware State Police say the video doesn’t tell the whole story. They released a statement to provide what they call necessary context and clarity.

State police say the woman, identified as 38-year-old Sierra Hopkins, was initially pulled over in the area of S. Bay Road and Lafferty Lane in Dover for having suspended tags, no car insurance, and no driver’s license.

She was issued citations and let go, but then stopped again minutes later by the same trooper on E. Lebanon Road, who decided to follow protocol and have her car towed.

State police say he did this because Hopkins had been cited for the same violations five days earlier.

Things quickly escalated during this stop, with police stating she refused to leave her car, resisting, kicking and scratching the trooper in the face.

It all happened while several juveniles were in the car.

“This is such a vulnerable and tender moment… I’m sure her children were present, which brings another cause of concern because that’s trauma,” said Fleur McKendell, President of Delaware NAACP State Conference.

McKendell says her organization is pushing for a full and thorough investigation.

“It’s really deeply concerning. It’s evoked a lot of strong emotions from myself, my organization, as well as the public. I think it’s important to understand the full context of the content we have viewed before reaching conclusions, so I’m very eager to review available video footage and the circumstances that preceded and occurred during that incident,” says McKendell.

Delaware Governor Matt Meyer is also weighing in on this confrontation.

He released the following statement to Action News:

“Every law-enforcement officer is entrusted with a duty to protect, to serve, and to uphold the dignity and rights of every person, in every community. Policing relies on trust. That trust is not automatic; it is earned every day through mutual respect, integrity and transparency. The people of Delaware deserve transparency, and this administration will not turn away from that responsibility.”

Hopkins was later charged with assault of a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest; driving without a license, endangering the welfare of children and other registration violations.

State police did not mention the current status of the trooper.

• Delaware NeuroRehab will open a brain injury center at the historic Fort DuPont campus in Delaware City.
• The group’s initial plan to convert the Inn at Montchanin Village was denied by New Castle County’s Board of Adjustment.
• The new 28-bed facility will be located in the former Tilton Building and is scheduled to open in 2027.
• This will be Delaware’s first comprehensive post-acute inpatient brain injury rehabilitation center.

A medical group that wanted to create a brain injury rehabilitation center at the Inn at Montchanin Village & Spa but was denied by New Castle County’s Board of Adjustment has found a new location in Delaware City.

Delaware NeuroRehab has purchased the two-story Tilton Building at Fort DuPont, a facility that had been part of the Governor Bacon Health Center. The building has been listed for $3.15 million.

A subdivision was approved by the Delaware City Council in April.

The site at 2546 Colter Road will become the state’s first comprehensive post-acute inpatient brain injury rehabilitation center, according to the medical group. It will serve individuals recovering from traumatic brain injuries, strokes, neurological disorders, and other acquired brain injuries.

Construction and renovation for the 57,000-square-foot facility will begin soon, the group’s spokeswoman said. The 28-bed rehabilitation center is scheduled to open in 2027.

The historic Fort DuPont campus is along the Delaware River and the C&D Canal. The land had been a military installation dating back to the Civil War and is named for Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont, a Civil War Naval hero.  It became a training facility until the end of World War II.

Fort DuPont was acquired by the state in 1947 and hosted the Governor Bacon Health Center. In 1992, it became part of the state park system.

Plans for the 219-acre site include new homes, shops, and gathering spaces while preserving and adapting many of the former military buildings dating back to the 19th century.

The Tilton Building was originally constructed in 1909 and reconstructed in 1936 following a fire, according to a brochure from Emory Hill, a commercial real estate and property management group. It served as the barracks for the First Regiment of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stationed at Fort DuPont. The building housed up to 628 enlisted men and supported the regiment’s engineering operations at the fort.

As measles cases increase in Pennsylvania, Delaware health officials say they are on high alert, warning that “infectious diseases don’t care about state borders.”

Dr. Ayanna Buckner, chief physician in the Delaware Division of Public Health’s Office of Epidemiology, said as of July 9, Delaware did not yet have any confirmed measles cases. 

But she noted the state is vulnerable given its close proximity to outbreak locations, prior exposure incidents in Delaware and the highly contagious nature of the disease.

She also noted Delaware has already encountered potential measles threats this year, including an exposure linked to an out-of-state patient who sought treatment at Nemours Children’s Hospital and the detection of measles in a Lewes wastewater sample.

“We do feel that our Delaware community is at high risk,” Buckner said. “We spend so much time doing investigations around infectious diseases, and measles is the one that we are on pins and needles about this summer.”

As of July 8, Pennsylvania had 101 confirmed measles cases so far in 2026, up from 94 on July 6. The majority of those were in Lancaster County – 60 total cases this year, including 52 since late April – and Lebanon County – 20 cases. These counties do not border Delaware.

However, four cases have been confirmed in Chester County since April. Chester borders the First State.

“We can’t say, ‘Oh, that’s over there in that state; we’re [OK],’” Buckner said. “Again, because infectious diseases don’t respect state borders.”

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. Quotations are verbatim.

Question: How concerned should Delaware residents be about measles?

Answer: So far this year, the Division of Public Health has issued two health alerts about measles. The first was in February, when an unvaccinated resident of another state who was infected sought treatment at the Nemours Children’s Hospital emergency department. Health officials notified anyone who was potentially exposed and conducted contact tracing.