A Maricopa County grand jury indicted two former Phoenix police officers suspected of a violent and unreported traffic stop on multiple felony charges.
Luis Vasquez Jr. and Antonio Felix each were indicted on two counts of kidnapping, aggravated assault, hindering prosecution, evidence tampering and making threats in connection to the Aug. 5 traffic stop, according to a copy of the indictment.
One of the two aggravated assault charges against Vasquez is a more serious Class 3 felony, as he is accused of pointing his department-issued handgun at the driver during the stop. He also faces a misdemeanor criminal damage charge.
Vasquez and Felix appeared in Maricopa County Superior Court on the morning of Sept. 8 for their arraignment where they pleaded
not guilty.
The indictment came after Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced during an Aug. 27 news conference she had assigned a team with decades of experience to prosecute the matter.
"My commitment to the community is to ensure that every person, including those entrusted with enforcing the law, is held accountable when there is evidence of criminal conduct," Mitchell said.
Vasquez and Felix were arrested and then fired from the Phoenix Police Department on Aug. 22 after an investigation into the Aug. 5 traffic stop in south Phoenix. Investigators haven't identified a motive behind the stop.
The Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board deactivated the former officers' certifications as an investigation into their conduct continued, according to documents obtained by The Arizona Republic. Vasquez and Felix are barred from working as law-enforcement officers while their certifications remain inactive. They were also added to the Brady list, which contains the names of officers accused of dishonesty or misconduct.
But records released Sept. 2 describe numerous commendations and routine praise in performance evaluations for the two officers, with just a few knocks over the years for mistakes or occasionally poor duty. Vasquez and Felix were both assigned to the department's South Mountain precinct and served on the force for eight and nine years, respectively.
Both men were released from jail following their arrest after posting bond. The two were equipped with electronic monitoring before being released and must follow a number of release conditions, such as not possessing any weapons or communicating with each other.
Violating any release conditions could result in a judge increasing the bond amount or revoking it altogether and remanding the violator back to jail while the case is adjudicated.
Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at perry.vandell@arizonarepublic.com or 480-341-9433.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ex-Phoenix police officers indicted over violent traffic stop
