The Victoria, Texas police department on Monday fired the officer who used a Taser on a 76-year-old man when attempting to arrest him for driving with an expired inspection sticker, the Victoria Advocate reported.
Officer Nathaniel Robinson in December confronted Victoria resident Pete Vasquez over his inspection sticker.
According to dashcam footage of the incident, Vasquez pulled away from Robinson when he tried to make the arrest. Robinson then slammed Vasquez onto the police car, wrestled him to the ground, and used a Taser twice on Vasquez.
Vasquez was driving a car owned by the dealership for which he worked, which exempted the car from the state’s inspection requirement.
After an investigation into Robinson’s conduct, the Victoria police department concluded that he violated three department policies on use of force, conduct, and arrests without a warrant, according to the Victoria Advocate.
“This is a very unfortunate incident for everyone involved,” Department Chief J.J. Craig said in a statement. “The Victoria Police Department places a high value on public trust. The men and women of the Victoria Police Department work hard each and every day to provide professional service with pride and respect to the community.”
