Two Phoenix police officers, Antonio Felix and Luis Vasquez, have been arrested and fired from their department following an unrecorded traffic stop in Arizona.
Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano announced that the two former officers face criminal charges including assault and kidnapping. Giordano said the charges stem from an incident on August 5 when the officers allegedly attacked a man and a woman and deployed a Taser against them during a stop that was never logged in department records.
Phoenix is the state capital and largest city in Arizona, located in Maricopa County in the American Southwest. Major American municipal police departments require officers to log all traffic stops with dispatch and activate uniform body-worn cameras during public encounters to maintain official oversight and transparent records.
Unreported traffic stop and assault allegations
According to police statements, Felix and Vasquez pulled over a vehicle on August 5 but failed to record the stop or switch on their body-worn cameras. Investigators found no evidence that the officers knew either victim prior to the encounter.
The driver and his female passenger reported that the officers smashed a window of their vehicle during the stop. Vasquez allegedly punched the driver repeatedly in the face and threatened to shoot him, while the woman stepped out of the vehicle and was placed in handcuffs.
Police reports state that both victims were shocked with a Taser while repeatedly asking the officers to explain the reason for the traffic stop. The driver managed to escape in the vehicle, leaving the woman behind, before abandoning the car in the neighboring city of Tempe. The woman was released by the officers at the scene.
Tempe is a municipality in Maricopa County directly bordering Phoenix to the east. Tasers are electroshock weapons widely deployed by law enforcement agencies to subdue individuals by delivering electrical currents that temporarily disrupt muscular control.
Investigation and GPS tracking evidence
A Tempe police officer who located the abandoned car contacted the Phoenix Police Department to check whether another agency had pulled over the vehicle. After Phoenix police confirmed no record of the stop, the Tempe officer contacted the owner of the vehicle, who is the driver's mother.
Through the vehicle owner, the Tempe officer established contact with the female passenger and subsequently with the driver. Both individuals detailed the physical attacks, leading the Tempe officer to record in his initial report that he believed the pair had been victims of an attempted carjacking by perpetrators impersonating police officers.
Giordano said he initially shared that assessment because the reported conduct fell far outside standard police procedures. However, after internal inquiries suggested local police involvement, the case was transferred to a specialized investigative team. Investigators established probable cause using data from the city's automatic vehicle location system, which confirmed a Phoenix police vehicle was present in the area at the time of the incident.
Automatic vehicle location systems use global positioning technology to log the real-time positions of emergency vehicles. Under criminal law, kidnapping charges address the unlawful restraint or detention of individuals without legal authorization, while assault charges apply to physical attacks or threats of force.
Officer histories and legal proceedings
Felix had served nine years with the Phoenix Police Department, while Vasquez was an eight-year veteran of the force. Giordano noted that both men had committed past department policy violations, though he clarified that those prior infractions were not comparable to the current charges.
Vasquez has been released from custody following his arrest. Felix remains held at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix, according to a spokesperson for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
Both former officers are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Friday. The criminal investigation and a parallel internal administrative review by the Phoenix Police Department remain ongoing.
