NewzTwo Phoenix police officers have been fired and arrested after a violent, unreported traffic stop earlier this month PHOENIX (AP) — Two Phoenix police officers were fired and arrested after an unreported traffic stop in which they assaulted a man and woman and shocked them with a Taser, the police chief said. Officers Antonio Felix and Luis Vasquez were arrested on charges including aggravated assault and kidnapping, police chief Matt Giordano said at a news conference Saturday.
“Detectives have confirmed that the two former officers physically assaulted both the man and woman during the traffic stop,” Giordano said. “The investigation also shows that a Taser was used on the victims during the stop.” The officers did not report the Aug. 5 traffic stop and did not activate their body-worn cameras, police said.
“There is no video evidence, but we established what we believe is probable cause that these crimes were committed,” Giordano said, adding there was no indication that the officers knew the victims. Dave Evans, a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, said Sunday that Vasquez had been released from custody while Felix remained incarcerated at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix. Attempts by The Associated Press to determine who their defense attorneys were to request comment were unsuccessful.
During the late-night traffic stop in Phoenix, the male driver and woman passenger reported that the officers smashed the car window, according to a statement from Phoenix police. Vasquez punched the man and threatened to shoot him, while the woman was removed from the vehicle and handcuffed. The man managed to drive away and abandoned the car in neighboring Tempe, while the woman was released at the scene, the statement said.
A police officer in neighboring Tempe who responded to the abandoned car asked over dispatch whether it had fled from any neighboring police agencies and was told it had not, according to a Tempe police report. The Tempe officer called the car’s registered owner, the mother of the male driver, and through her was able to connect with the woman passenger and eventually the male driver. The woman passenger told the officer that both of them had been shocked with a Taser, while the man later told the officer that he had been punched in the face multiple times and that they had repeatedly asked why they had been stopped.
The Tempe officer wrote in the report that he believed they were victims of an attempted carjacking by people impersonating po… 5 traffic stop and did not activate their body-worn cameras, police said.“There is no video evidence, but we established what we believe is probable cause that these crimes were committed,” Giordano said, adding there was no indication that the officers knew the victims.Dave Evans, a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, said Sunday that Vasquez had been released from custody while Felix remained incarcerated at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix.Attempts by The Associated Press to determine who their defense attorneys were to request comment were unsuccessful.During the late-night traffic stop in Phoenix, the male driver and woman passenger reported that the officers smashed the car window, according to a statement from Phoenix police.
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