Fort Worth, Texas police office W. Figueroa was suspended from patrol duty pending an internal investigation after a video surfaced that seems to show him shooting pepper spray at a passing group of motorcyclists.
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A video shot by one of the bikers with his GoPro camera shows the officer spraying at passing motorcyclists.
The YouTube video was posted online by Chase Stone, president of an East Texas motorcycle club known as the East Texas Heat, the Star-Telegram reports.
Police also say three of the people in the truck the officer pulled over were cited; the driver, for not having a license, and two others, for riding in the bed of a pickup truck.
“Law enforcement is here to protect and serve, not intentionally try to harm others”, Stone wrote on his Facebook post in asking others to share the video.
Stone said an estimated 200 motorcyclists joined in a “Welcome Back Weather” ride to commemorate the beginning of biking season. Although the motorists appear to be wearing helmets, the pepper spray still could have done some damage, leading to an accident.
“It’s the last thing I would expect to see”, Kinney said.
The police department confirmed to CBS Radio station KRLD that it is investigating the footage.
“They could have got blinded and ran into the truck”, McKenzie said.
The emerging defense appears to be “people were complaining about the bikers weaving”, as if pepper-spraying them at speed is going to make the roads safer.
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The police claim the pickup was pulled over for blocking traffic to record the motorcycles when the incident occurred.
