PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Two former Phoenix police officers accused of a violent, off-the-books traffic stop have been officially charged, prosecutors said Thursday.
Read more Treaty deal cuts Colorado River water use across US and Mexico
A grand jury indicted Antonio Felix and Luis Vasquez on Aug. 31 on three counts of aggravated assault, two felony counts of kidnapping, one felony count of criminal damage, one felony count of tampering with physical evidence, one felony count of conspiracy to commit first-degree hindering prosecution and one misdemeanor count of threatening or intimidating.
The two suspects pulled over a man and a woman in a Dodge Charger near 15th Avenue and Broadway Road late at night on Aug. 5, police said.
Investigators said Vasquez held a man at gunpoint, damaging the car’s driver’s side window and hurting the man when he was unable to fight back.
Felix is accused of putting the woman in an arm bar, handcuffing her, using a stun gun on her and pushing her to the ground before putting her in the back of the police car.
Prosecutors claim Vasquez and Felix destroyed or concealed a cellphone to keep it from being used as evidence in subsequent official proceedings.
Court paperwork said neither officer activated his body-worn camera during the stop, and that there was no radio traffic, no call for service, no use-of-force report and no supervisor notification.
Read more Man avoids murder conviction in fatal Tucson kidnapping, for now
Weeks after the incident, the pair was fired from the department and arrested. They later were released after posting bail.
Vasquez, an Army veteran, served with the Phoenix Police Department for eight years. Records show Vazquez was involved in a deadly officer-involved shooting in February 2025. Prosecutors later cleared Vazquez of any criminal wrongdoing in that case.
Felix had been with the police department for nine years. Both officers were assigned to patrol duties at the South Mountain Precinct.
Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano previously told Arizona’s Family that there were no prior red flags involving the two former officers.
Earlier this week, they pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Their next court date is scheduled for November.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Read more Cochise County reports two confirmed cases of West Nile virus
