A Fort Worth Texas police officer has been assigned to administrative duty, pending an investigation, after a video surfaced of him pepper spraying a pack of motorcyclists last weekend.
Fort Worth police released a statement on Facebook saying they haven’t received a formal complaint about the incident, but began an investigation after receiving the video on Monday.
The video shows Officer W. Figueroa stepping out of his patrol car and with his arm extended, appears to be indiscriminately pepper spraying the large throng of motorcycles that happens to be passing by as he was conducting a routine traffic stop.
According to a report in the Star-Telegram, an ambulance was called to scene for pepper spray exposure, treating one male passenger.
An estimated 200 motorcycles were taking part in a “Welcome back weather” ride organized to kick off the biking season.
“It’s dangerous man, it could have caused tons of accidents and possible deaths,” Jack Kinny, one of the riders told KXAS News.
Chase Stone, president of the East Texas Heat motorcycle team said he and his wife witnessed the aftermath of the pepper spray.
“I looked over and I see the people in the back of the truck ducking, covering their eyes. They were covering their mouths and seemed to be in distress,”Stone said.
“I looked out my mirror and I seen like, all the mace going towards the bikes and then it hit us and then I started choking,” said Brittany Botella, who was in the truck that was pulled over by Figueroa.
Officer Figueroa has filed a report on the incident and police will be reviewing the video from his body camera as well as his mounted dash camera in his patrol car. Police did not release the reason he gave for using the pepper spray due to the ongoing investigation.