Two Phoenix Police Officers Fired and Arrested After Violent, Unreported Traffic Stop

PHOENIX — Two Phoenix police officers were fired and arrested after an unreported traffic stop in which they allegedly assaulted a man and woman and shocked them with a Taser, Police Chief Matt Giordano said at a news conference Saturday.

Officers Antonio Felix and Luis Vasquez were charged with aggravated assault and kidnapping, Giordano said.

"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."

Police said the officers never reported the Aug. 5 traffic stop and did not activate their body-worn cameras.

"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 the officers knew the victims before the stop.

According to a Phoenix police statement, the male driver and female passenger reported that the officers smashed the car window during the late-night stop. Vasquez punched the man and threatened to shoot him, while the woman was pulled from the vehicle and handcuffed. The man managed to drive away and abandoned the car in neighboring Tempe, where the woman was released at the scene.

A Tempe officer who responded to the abandoned car asked over dispatch whether it had fled from any neighboring police agencies and was told it had not. The officer then contacted the car's registered owner, the male driver's mother, and was eventually able to reach both victims. The female passenger told the officer that both of them had been shocked with a Taser, and the man said he had been punched in the face multiple times and that they had repeatedly asked why they were being stopped. The Tempe officer wrote in the report that he believed the pair had been victims of an attempted carjacking by people impersonating police.

Giordano said he had a similar reaction when he first learned of the incident because it was "so far outside the bounds of our policies." As detectives dug deeper, they determined Phoenix officers were involved and the case was handed 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 built into city vehicles.

Vasquez and Felix had served eight and nine years with Phoenix police, respectively. Giordano said without elaboration that both had previously violated department policy, but that it was "nothing of this nature."

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 identify defense attorneys and request comment were unsuccessful.

The Phoenix department's investigation and audit are ongoing. The former officers have a court date scheduled for Friday.