Two Phoenix Police Officers Arrested After Violent Stop
Sandego.net – Two Phoenix police officers arrested and terminated from the force after a late-night traffic stop on August 5 devolved into what detectives now characterize as aggravated assault and kidnapping. Police Chief Matt Giordano confirmed the charges at a Saturday press briefing, saying the sequence of events was “so far outside the bounds of our policies” that he initially doubted Phoenix officers were involved at all.
Antonio Felix, a nine-year veteran, and Luis Vasquez, an eight-year veteran, were booked on charges including aggravated assault and kidnapping. Detectives determined that both men physically struck a male driver and a female passenger, deployed a Taser on the occupants, and failed to file any report or activate body-worn cameras. The absence of video left investigators relying on witness statements and GPS location data pulled from city vehicles.
Sequence of Events
Per the department’s written statement, the pair described being pulled over late at night in Phoenix. Officers shattered the vehicle’s window. Vasquez punched the driver and threatened to shoot him. The woman was dragged from the car and handcuffed. Both occupants were then Tasered. The man eventually drove away and abandoned the car in neighboring Tempe; the woman was released at the original stop location. They had repeatedly asked why they were being stopped, according to statements relayed to a responding officer.
How Detectives Traced the Incident Back to Phoenix
A Tempe officer who responded to the abandoned vehicle radioed dispatch asking whether the car had fled from any neighboring agency. Told no, he contacted the registered owner — the driver’s mother — who connected him to the woman passenger and, ultimately, the driver himself. In his written report, the Tempe officer believed the pair were victims of an attempted carjacking by individuals impersonating law enforcement.
“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, referencing the GPS technology embedded in city vehicles.
Once internal records aligned with the victims’ accounts, the case moved to a special investigations detail. Giordano acknowledged his initial surprise before explaining the pivot. He stressed there was no indication the officers had prior knowledge of the victims and noted, without elaboration, that both men had previously violated department policy but characterized those earlier infractions as “nothing of this nature.”
Custody Status and Court
By Sunday, Vasquez had been released while Felix remained held at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix. A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed the split status. Attempts to reach defense attorneys for comment were unsuccessful as of reporting time. A court date was set for Friday. The department’s internal investigation and audit remain ongoing.
The failure to document the stop and the absence of body-camera footage raised pointed questions about accountability protocols. Phoenix police, like most large-city departments in Arizona, require officers to log traffic stops and activate recording devices during field encounters. The gap between policy and practice became a focal point of Giordano’s remarks as he underscored that the audit would continue until every question was resolved.
FAQ
Were the officers fired? Yes. Both Felix and Vasquez lost their positions with the Phoenix Police Department following the August 5 incident.
What charges were filed? Aggravated assault and kidnapping, according to Chief Giordano’s Saturday announcement.
Why was there no video evidence? Neither officer activated a body-worn camera, and neither filed a report on the stop, leaving no departmental video record of the encounter.
Where is the case being handled? A court date was set for Friday. Felix was held at the Lower Buckeye Jail; Vasquez was released by Sunday.
