Two Phoenix police officers fired and charged in violent traffic stop

 

Two Phoenix Police officers, Luis Vasquez, Jr. and Antonio Felix, were arrested and fired following a violent traffic stop in South Phoenix on the night of Aug. 5. The department confirmed the former officers physically assaulted a man and a woman during the stop, used force that was not reported as required by policy, and failed to activate their body-worn cameras. Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano placed the officers on administrative leave before arresting and terminating them on Aug. 22 following interviews and a criminal investigation launched by the Tempe Police Department.

A Tempe Police report revealed details of the encounter near 19th Avenue and Broadway Road, where the former officers pulled over a couple in a white SUV and smashed the driver's side window. One officer put the woman in an arm bar before using a Taser on her right thigh and being told by the other suspect to put a stun gun on a higher setting on her back. The driver was handcuffed and assaulted for six minutes, including being Tased, punched in the head with a closed fist multiple times, and having pieces of his hair pulled out while an officer waved a gun and counted down to shoot him.

Vasquez and Felix face multiple felony charges, including aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, felony assault involving a bound individual, threatening and intimidating, criminal damage, hindering prosecution, and tampering with evidence.