VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Vancouver police officer has been charged with assault related to a "use of force incident" that occurred in May.
According to the Vancouver Police Department, Officer Andrea Mendoza is being charged with fourth-degree assault for her use of a taser against a shoplifting suspect in a Walmart parking lot.
The incident was captured on surveillance video from Walmart and on the officers' body camera and can be watched here. A warning, the video contains graphic violence and graphic language, viewer discretion is advised.
On May 21, officers responded to a call from a Walmart loss prevention employee who reported seeing two individuals, a man and a woman, take merchandise and leave the store without paying. Police said the two suspects were verbally contacted by two officers who told them they were not free to leave. The male suspect took several steps away but one of the officers grabbed his arm to prevent him from running. The female suspect fled running and was not located, police said.
The officers wrestled the man to the ground, but he tried to get away when they attempted to get him on his stomach in order to put him in handcuffs. The man punched one officer in the face and another in the chest during the struggle, police said. Once they got him back on the ground, Mendoza deployed a taser on the suspect's back then pulled down his pants and threatened to use the taser on his genitals, VPD said.
The suspect then complied and was taken into custody, according to a police report. He was provided medical aid at the scene and was later transported to a hospital before being booked into the Clark County Jail for third-degree assault and third-degree theft charges. The suspect's name has not been released.
Video footage from Walmart shows a different view of the same interaction.
“The actions of the officer who deployed the taser in the video are disturbing,” said Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori. “I want to emphasize to the community that my expectation is that at all times our personnel serve the public with professionalism, compassion and respect."
Mori said a supervisor flagged the incident after reviewing the video shortly after it happened on May 24, and VPD placed the officer on administrative leave. Vancouver police opened an internal investigation and referred the case to the Clark County Sheriff's Office for an independent investigation.
The case was referred to county prosecutors last Thursday and the assault charges were filed on Tuesday. Mendoza has been on administrative leave since May.
"In order to maintain the integrity of the criminal justice process and the internal investigation, at this time, we will not be commenting further," said Mori.