Bodycam released of man pulled over, tased for 'dirty license plate'
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - Body camera footage was released Monday from a traffic incident that took place in January where a man was pulled over, tased, and arrested for a dirty license plate.
Clarence Crawford was pulled over by Officer Kaleb Meyer, who is no longer with the NBPD. City officials said on Monday that Meyer was suspicious of Crawford because he didn't pull over right away.
In the video, Meyer is seen walking up to Crawford's car with his gun drawn. Crawford has one hand on the wheel and the other holding his phone, Meyer is ordering him to put it down.
After about a minute, Crawford gets out of the car and kneels in front of Meyer. Meyer then can be heard yelling at Crawford to lay face-down. As this is happening, Meyer begins to tase Crawford, saying he refused his orders multiple times.
City Manager Robert Camareno says that Officer Meyer's were out of line and unacceptable. "The trainings and expectations were not met during this traffic stop," Camareno said.
Adding that all officers are trained to de-escalate the situation.
"Our officers are trained to be respectful, to de-escalate situations, give clear and concise commands, listen to those they interact with, and only use force when the situation deems it necessary," said Camareno.
Meyer had been with the department for a little over a year and a half. After the incident, Camareno said Meyer received more trainings and policy reviews. But, ultimately, he chose to resign. Adding there was never any internal review.
"Officer Meyer chose to resign," he said. "I'm not sure the exact date, but it was a few months ago."
Camareno said the department is reviewing its policies to make sure an incident doesn't happen like this again. "Please understand the action of this police officer are not representative of the men and women of the police department," he said.
Crawford was charged with fleeing from a police officer and interfering with police duties, but those charges have since been dropped.