Newly released dashcam video shows the reaction of passengers in the bed of a pickup truck after a Fort Worth police officer deployed pepper spray into a lane of oncoming traffic.
The video does not have audio, and does not show Officer W. Figueroa as he sprays pepper spray standing in the doorway of his patrol unit, but it shows the moments before and after.
As soon as the officer sees a group of motorcyclists, it appears he enters Highway 287 from the service road. A motorcycle pulls in front of the officer as he gets behind a pickup truck with three people visible in the bed.
The truck pulls over. As Figueroa walks toward the vehicle, the video shows those in the bed reacting. For the several minutes, passengers in the bed of the truck make motions toward their faces, wiping their eyes and coughing.
It appears Figueroa takes a camera from one of the people in the back, and other items from those inside the vehicle and places them on the hood of his patrol car before other officers begin to arrive.
Prior to the traffic, numerous 911 calls were made from drivers on Interstate 20, southeast Loop 820 and Highway 287 as they watched a large group of motorcycles move down the roadways.
At times, callers reported them performing stunts like 'wheelies' and weaving in and out of traffic. Others reported them traveling slowly and blocking traffic, as well as, a report of people standing in the bed of a truck attempting to film them.
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In the police report filed regarding the traffic stop, Figueroa stated that he did use pepper spray saying in part, "while attempting to make contact with the driver, multiple motorcycles would not vacate the lane closest to my marked patrol car. I deployed my pepper spray into the lane closest to me at which point approaching motorcycles began to vacate the lane allowing me to conduct a traffic stop."
Figueroa has been placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation by the Fort Worth Police Department.
As of Tuesday, March 29, no official complaint has been filed against the officer, according to Fort Worth Police Department spokeswoman Tamera Pena.
