A Victoria, Texas Police Officer Tased A 76-Year-Old Man For Expired Inspection Sticker

A Victoria, Texas, police officer handcuffed a 76-year-old man, slammed him against the hood of his police cruiser, and tased him as he lay on the ground, all over an expired inspection sticker, Raw Story is reporting.

Pete Vasquez, 76, was pulled over last week for an expired inspection sticker on a vehicle Vasquez was driving back to the dealer’s lot where he works. As the situation unfolded, Vasquez tried to explain to 23-year-old officer Nathanial Robinson that the vehicle was exempt from inspection stickers, but as is obvious in the video from the officer’s dash camera, posted below, Robinson was having none of it. Be warned: The video is graphic and disturbing.

Although it’s impossible to hear what the 76-year-old man is saying, Vasquez can be seen gesturing to the car’s license plates, seemingly to indicate that it’s exempt, according to Huffington Post. Robinson appears to then grab something from Vasquez’ hand, which Vasquez doesn’t allow. Robinson then grabs the 76-year-old man’s arm and twists it, then pushes him against the hood of the police car.

The two men disappear off-camera for a few moments, then Robinson re-appears on screen, this time holding a taser.

Vasquez’ boss, sales manager Larry Ulrich, emerges from a building with some choice words for the officer.

“I told the officer, ‘What in the hell are you doing?’ This gentleman is 76 years old. The cop told me to stand back, but I didn’t shut up. I told him he was a g*dd*mn Nazi Stormtrooper.”

After a while, more officers arrive on the scene to intervene. An officer off-screen asks Vasquez if he’s hurt.

“Not yet. Probably later on. I’m 76 years old.”

The incident happened Thursday of last week, but since that time, it has gone viral. Since publication of the video, the police officer has been placed on administrative leave, according to the Victoria Advocate. Victoria police chief J.J. Craig has apologized for the tasing incident.

“Public trust is extremely important to us. Sometimes that means you have to take a real hard look at some of the actions that occur within the department.”

Videos of incidents of police brutality — whether captured by police dash cameras or by citizens recording the events on mobile devices — often garner public attention these days, leading their departments to investigate. A recent example of such an incident came to light last week when, according to this Inquisitr report, a Denver police officer was recorded violently punching an unarmed man, then tripping his pregnant girlfriend who tried to intervene.

District Attorney Stephen Tyler tells the Victoria Advocate that the police officer could be facing charges of official oppression, injury to elderly, and aggravated assault, among other charges.

The 76-year-old man who was tased was not charged with any crimes.

[Image courtesy of: Raw Story]