State fires trooper in Flores crash

The man behind the wheel of a Minnesota State Patrol squad car that reportedly sped through a busy Rochester intersection, killing an Owatonna teen, has been fired.

Former trooper Shane Roper’s last day of employment at the Department of Public Safety/Minnesota State Patrol was Sept. 3.

According to public records from the MSP, an internal affairs investigation found Roper had violated five general orders “and disregarded the mission statement and core values of the state patrol.”

The document says he specifically violated the oath of a Minnesota State Trooper; conduct of sworn members; patrol unit, operation and maintenance; patrolling and parking; and emergency vehicle operations as a result of the May 18 crash that took the life of Olivia Flores, 18.

She was about six weeks away from graduating with the Owatonna High School Class of 2024.

The investigation determined Roper was “reckless to drive through this intersection at such high speeds,” with no justification for him to speed at all.

The report goes on to say his actions “demonstrate a failure to exercise good judgment and drive with due regard for the safety of others.”

Flores was the back seat passenger in the car Roper broadsided while allegedly driving more than 80 miles per hour and pursuing another vehicle for a petty traffic offense.

Moments before the impact, Roper turned off his emergency lights and was not using his siren, according to data retrieved from the “black box” of the squad.

Flores died of her injuries the next day in a Rochester hospital. Three other people – including a passenger in the squad car – were seriously injured.

Roper, who is from Hayfield, was charged in July with one count each of second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide, and three counts of criminal vehicular operation, all felonies. Other charges include two gross misdemeanor counts of criminal vehicular operation and one count of reckless driving, as well as one count of careless driving, a misdemeanor.

He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is due back in court on Nov. 21. A jury trial is tentatively set to begin in late March.

Prior to his termination, Roper was on paid administrative leave.

He was a trooper for about eight years. In that time, he was involved in four crashes “either due to inattentive driving or excessive speed” before the May 18 crash, according to his personnel file.