By Ed Mazza
A Texas cop is under
investigation after using a stun gun on an elderly man he had stopped for an
inspection sticker issue that the officer himself apparently didn't understand.
Dashcam video from the incident
posted by Raw Story, above, shows officer Nathanial Robinson, 23, pull over
Pete Vasquez, 76, at Adam's Auto Mart in Victoria, Texas, as "Under Ground
Kings" by Drake blares from the cruiser's radio.
Vasquez gets out of the car,
walks behind it and gestures toward the license plate and to the office of the
dealer, where he works. He later told the Victoria Advocate newspaper that he
was explaining that the dealer tags on the car make it exempt from inspection.
Victoria Police Chief Jeffrey
"J.J." Craig confirmed to the paper that the car was exempt.
On the video, however, Robinson
appears to try to snatch a piece of paper from Vasquez without success. Then,
he grabs Vasquez's arm, twists it behind him and pushes him against the hood of
the cruiser. After a brief scuffle, the cop reaches for both of Vasquez's arms
and drags him the ground, out of camera range.
When the cop is next seen in
frame, he's yelling and holding up a stun gun.
Police told the newspaper that
Robinson used the device twice on Vasquez.
A man emerges from the dealer's
office and yells at the cop.
"I told the officer, 'What
in the hell are you doing?' This gentleman is 76 years old," sales manager
Larry Urich told the newspaper. "The cop told me to stand back, but I
didn't shut up. I told him he was a goddamn Nazi Stormtrooper."
When other officers arrive on
the scene, they ask Vasquez for his side of the story and check to see if he's
injured.
"Are you hurting
anywhere?" the unidentified officer can be heard asking on the video.
"Not yet," Vasquez
replies. "Probably later on. I'm 76 years old."
Vasquez was taken to a
hospital, then released without being cited.
Craig later apologized to
Vasquez.
"Public trust is extremely
important to us," Craig said, according to the Advocate. "Sometimes
that means you have to take a real hard look at some of the actions that occur
within the department."
He told The Associated Press
that Robinson has been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation.
District attorney Stephen Tyler
told the paper he hasn't been contacted by police yet, but said the officer
could face charges including official oppression, injury to elderly, aggravated
assault and assault.
As many took to the
department's Facebook page to express their concern, the agency posted a
response reiterating that the incident is under investigation.
"We place incredible value
in public trust and have worked diligently to build that trust. In the interest
of transparency, and knowing that many of you are looking for an outlet to
express your feelings on the matter, we are creating this post to allow your
comments to be heard," the post said. "All we ask is that your
comments stay within our established posting policy."
