Delaware
Investigation underway after controversial traffic stop in Delaware
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.
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Your New Castle County tax bill won’t arrive this month. What to know
If you didn’t hear it already, Delaware tax bills in New Castle County will again face delay due to ongoing reassessment impact, review.
One of the three property reassessment reform bills passed in Delaware’s legislature this year will become law without the governor’s signature.
Backed by Rep. Kim Williams, the bill in question extends New Castle County’s ability to tax residential and nonresidential properties at separate rates, indefinitely.
The bill builds on the work also championed by the Stanton Democrat in special session last August, which allowed any New Castle County school district to reset and split tax rates for the 2025-26 tax year alone.
Williams previously told lawmakers this latest bill “strikes a thoughtful balance” between administrative competence, local-level flexibility and taxpayer protection. Under the new bill, nonresidential rates cannot be more than 1.85 times higher than residential, according to the bill.
This gives businesses and commercial properties slightly more flexibility than last year, which clocked in at two times the residential rate.
The bill was one of several measures included in a property reassessment reform package introduced near the end of the legislative session. Other bills in the package would allow school districts to reset their tax rates for the 2026-27 school year and require municipalities in all three counties to share permit data monthly.
Three out of the five bills in that package cleared both chambers by the time the session gaveled out on July 1. Both the building permitting data and tax reset bills were later signed by Gov. Matt Meyer.
While he said the bill does contain the measures districts need to reset rates ahead of the fast-approaching school year, the Democrat said he cannot back legislation that continues treating apartment buildings and other residential rental structures as commercial properties.
“Across Delaware, apartments are home to our families, friends, and neighbors,” Meyer said in a statement issued Aug. 7. “But under this law, a building that houses teachers, nurses, seniors, first responders, and thousands of working families can be taxed at substantially higher rates than the single-family home next door – simply because those families rent instead of own.”
As per legislative rules, once the governor receives a bill, the governor can do one of three actions: sign it, veto it or let it automatically become law.
Meyer said vetoing this bill now would only generate uncertainty for districts – and wouldn’t actually solve the problem.
This isn’t the first time Meyer has let a reassessment reform effort go through without his seal of approval. One of the first reform bills introduced this session – which allowed New Castle County to correct assessment errors and review certain commercial properties that saw steep value drops or are assessed far below their recent sale prices – was enacted in February without his signature or a veto.
He also called on lawmakers to set in stone a “permanent property classification system” next session – one that would treat rental housing as residential properties, as well as protect tenants from excessive taxation, without taking a dime from public schools.
The governor previously pushed for a Senate bill that would have enacted a similar, standard framework classifying taxable property for county, municipality and school taxation.
The bill was introduced and assigned to committee, but did not make it through both chambers before session’s end.
Williams had concerns with this – chiefly, giving a break to commercial property owners of those apartments.
Williams said the proposal raises several questions, including whether property owners would pass any tax savings on to renters and how it could affect manufactured housing communities. She also believes moving forward with the measure could trigger another lawsuit.
In short, she said, this could do more harm than good.
Fellow Rep. Cyndie Romer, a co-sponsor of the bill, felt a little different.
The Newark Democrat told Delaware Online/The News Journal that she was “not bothered” by the lack of a signature, saying with or without it, it is still First State law.
She added renters continued to face significant hurdles, and as such, there needs to be legislation that actually helps them and lawmakers must establish fair classifications moving forward.
“Rent is at an all-time high and not all, but many landlords are making record profits,” said Romer. “We need to make sure those savings are getting passed along to the renters.”
Olivia Montes covers state government and community impact for Delaware Online/The News Journal. If you have a tip or a story idea, reach out to her at omontes@delawareonline.com.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WSYX) — One person is dead after a single-vehicle crash Thursday night on State Route 315 in Liberty Township.
Investigators said a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze driven by Jared Freeman of Columbus was traveling southbound on State Route 315 when Freeman failed to curve.
The car went off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree, according to the preliminary investigation. Freeman died at the scene.
The crash remains under investigation.
A Delaware dance teacher was arrested and charged with sexually abusing two teenagers who attended classes at the studio where she worked, authorities said Thursday.
Investigators believe Emily Pryor Albino, 23, may have abused additional students at X-Treme Dance Studio in Laurel.
According to police, Albino exchanged explicit messages with two of the victims.
Delaware state investigators suspect there are other victims who have not yet come forward.
Albino is charged with four counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a child by a person in a position of trust, along with felony sexual solicitation of a child via an electronic device.
Following her arraignment, she was jailed on a $110,000 bond.
Representatives from X-Treme Dance Studio and Delaware state investigators were not immediately available for comment.
Detectives are urging anyone with information or who may have been a victim to contact Detective R. Mitchell at 302-752-3794.
Tips can also be submitted via private message to the Delaware State Police Facebook page or by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
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