A suspected Texas pepper-spraying officer has been removed from patrol duty after a video emerged online purporting to show him unleashing the spray at passing motorcyclists Sunday in Fort Worth.
The clip posted on YouTube has received more than 1.5 million views since it was posted on the site Monday.
Reportedly filmed on U.S. Highway 287 northbound, the video shows the officer,
identified in a report obtained by NBC 5 as W. Figueroa, appearing to spray something in the direction of passing bikers as he had a pickup truck
pulled over in the shoulder, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Fort Worth Police spokeswoman Cpl. Tracey Knight confirmed to NBC 5 Monday that the officer did indeed use pepper spray on the passing bikers.
Matt Zavadsky, of Medstar Mobile Healthcare, told the local station that five people were treated at the scene for exposure to pepper spray and one man was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Authorities were called to U.S. Highway 287 around 3 p.m.
Fort Worth police told NBC 5 that the department had received several complaints at the time about hundreds of bikers weaving in and out of traffic on the usually busy freeway. According to the incident report, Figueroa said he pulled over the pickup for "blocking traffic to rocord [sic] motorcycles driving recklessly."
The driver of the pickup — Brittany Botella, who is six months pregnant — was cited only for driving without a license, according to NBC 5. One of the pickup's passengers, Markus Hernandez, was hospitalized and given breathing treatments after being exposed to what was believed to be pepper spray.
Fort Worth police told The Dallas Morning News that Figueroa is a six-year member of the department and that the incident has been referred to the internal affairs division for an investigation.
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