A routine traffic stop in Victoria, Texas turned nasty when Nathanial Robinson, a 23-year-old police officer ended up using his Taser twice on Pete Vasquez, a 76-year-old mechanic at a used car dealership.
Last Thursday, Vasquez was pulled over in front of the dealership because the car he was driving had expired inspection stickers. But as Vasquez attempted to point out to Robinson, the dealer tags on the car exempted him from having an inspection.
The only footage available of the incident is from Robinson’s dashcam.
In the video, Vasquez is seen holding a piece of paper which Robinson attempts to snatch away without success.
A struggle between the two ensues and Robinson slams Vasquez against the hood of the police car and they both fall to the ground.
“He got nasty with me,” said Vasquez to another officer who arrived at the scene later to investigate. “He grabbed me and threw me on that pavement there and almost knocked my head on that pole.”
Vasquez goes on to explain that Robinson used his Taser on him. Victoria police confirmed that the officer deployed his Taser twice.
The mechanic was then handcuffed and taken to a hospital, where he remained under custody for two hours.
“We have an ongoing internal investigation and we have asked, invited the Texas Rangers here to conduct an outside investigation as well,” said Victoria Mayor Paul Polasek.
Victoria Police Chief Jeff Craig said he visited Vasquez in the hospital to ensure him that there would be a full investigation into the incident.
Robinson was placed on administrative leave Friday until the outcome of the investigation is released.
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