Phoenix — 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 city’s 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.”
CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO-TV reported Sunday evening that newly released court documents say both officers admitted to their involvement in a violent traffic stop.
At their initial court appearance Saturday night, a judge set a $100,000 secured appearance bond for each defendant, with electronic monitoring required if they’re released, KPHO said. Their next court date is scheduled for Friday.
The officers didn’t report the Aug. 5 traffic stop and didn’t activate their body-worn cameras, Giordano 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.
“There is no excuse for the conduct that these two officers engaged in,” Giordano continued, according to CBS Phoenix affiliate KPHO-TV.
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 CBS News to determine who their defense attorneys are to request comment were unsuccessful.
The male driver and woman passenger reported that the officers smashed the car window during the late-night traffic stop in Phoenix, 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 statement said.
The man managed to drive away and abandoned the car in neighboring Tempe, while the woman was released at the scene, the statement added.
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 police officers.
Giordano, the Phoenix police chief, said he had a similar reaction when he initially learned of the incident as it was “so far outside the bounds of our policies.” But when detectives started looking into it, they realized Phoenix officers might be involved and transitioned the case to a special investigations detail, he said.
“That’s when they started putting evidence together, including the automatic vehicle locator that did put a vehicle at that location about the time that the victims reported it occurred,” Giordano said, referring to the location technology in city vehicles.
Vasquez and Felix had served eight and nine years with Phoenix police, respectively. Giordano, without elaborating, said both had previously violated department policy but that it was “nothing of this nature.”
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association — the local police union — said in a statement that it “is deeply troubled by the conduct alleged against two former Phoenix police officers. … If proven, these actions represent a significant breach of the public trust and do not reflect the professionalism and integrity demonstrated every day by the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department. … We support Chief Giordano and the Department’s decision to terminate the officers following its investigation.”
The Phoenix department’s investigation and audit are ongoing.
