Shocking police body camera footage shows the moment an Arizona cop mercilessly tazes a man 11 times and pulls down his pants to fire at his testicles.
Glendale police officers Matt Schneider and Mark Lindsey pulled over Johnny Wheatcroft on July 27, 2017 for a traffic violation.
Tensions between Wheatcroft and Schneider escalated after he refused to give his name or produce an ID, leading Schneider to launch his tazing attack.
Wheatcroft, 37, was sitting with his wife, a friend, and his two young sons, aged 11 and six, in the back when the officers approached his Ford Taurus, saying they observed a seat belt violation.
Arizona man Johnny Wheatcroft, 37, (left) is suing Glendale Police officers Matt Schneider (right) and Mark Lindsey they tazed him 11 times on July 27, 2017
The two cops pulled him over for a traffic violation and found Wheatcraft sitting in the car with his wife, a friend and his two young sons, aged 11 and six
Officer Matt Schneider tazed Wheatcroft multiple times after he refused to show his ID or share his name and seemed tense
Wheatcroft is now suing the two Glendale cops for ‘excessive use of force and torture’
Wheatcroft was tazed in front of his wife and his two young sons, aged 11 and six, who were crying in the backseat as their father collapsed to the ground
The officers asked for IDs and Wheatcroft refused to give his name or hand over an ID card saying: ‘I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not doing anything wrong’.
When Wheatcroft began to panic, Schneider pointed his taser at his shoulder saying: ‘Here’s the deal. Listen to me. Relax your arm. I’m trying to do this as easy as I can.’
Then he accused Wheatcroft of stuffing something into his backpack.
Agitated, Schneider pulled Wheatcroft’s arm behind his back, despite his arm being restrained by a seat belt, leaving the man howling in pain.
Schneider says ‘he’s going to fight dude’ to Officer Lindsey, leading Lindsey to stun him with the taser. Schneider then grabs the taser and continues to fire.
His children are heard wailing ‘Please stop! Daddy are you okay?’ and their mother says ‘He’s not going to do nothing!’
Shots are fired over and over until Wheatcroft is laid on the hot asphalt on the 108-degree day.
Then Schneider kicks him in the groin, pulls down his athletic shorts and tazes him in the testicles, according to the footage obtained by ABC15.
‘Keep fighting and you’re gonna get it again. You want it again? Shut your mouth. I’m done f***ing around with you,’ Schneider is heard saying.
At one point he says ‘stop being such a baby’.
At one point Wheatcroft was laid on the ground and handcuffed. Then Officer Schneider pulled down Wheatcroft’s shorts to fire at his testicles
‘Keep fighting and you’re gonna get it again. You want it again? Shut your mouth. I’m done f***ing around with you,’ Schneider is heard saying after he tazed Wheatcroft’s private area
Glendale Police said that a review of the officers’ actions has already been performed and they disciplined Schneider for his conduct by suspending him for just 30 days
At the end of the attack Wheatcroft could barely speak and said he couldn’t breathe. He was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer
At the end of the attack, Wheatcroft was left mumbling, unable to speak clearly and stammering that he couldn’t breathe and was suffering chest pains.
When he says ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe’, Schneider says ‘Shut up. You’re fine…Well you shouldn’t have been stupid then’.
Wheatcroft was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.
His wife Anya Chapman, 34, who was also in the car was charged with aggravated assault for hitting Officer Lindsey in the head with a bag filled with bottled drinks.
Now Wheatcroft is suing the officers for the vicious attack accusing them of ‘excessive use of force and torture’.
‘The video speaks for itself. I think anyone who sees that video probably doesn’t even need a commentary to understand what happened there,’ his attorney Marc Victor said to KTAR.
Wheatcroft’s wife Anya Chapman, 34, was also charged with aggravated battery for hitting Officer Lindsey in the head with a bag filled with bottled drinks
Wheatcroft and Chapman spent months in jail after the incident because they couldn’t afford bail.
The charges against Wheatcroft were dismissed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office after prosecutors saw the body camera footage themselves.
Wheatcroft is currently in prison for an unrelated burglary charge.
On Friday Glendale Police released a statement defending the excessive use of force.
‘Due to the physical resistance from Mr. Wheatcroft, the Taser was used in a drive stun capacity in order to gain control and avoid physical injury,’ the statement said.
Glendale Police said that a review of the officers’ actions has already been performed and ‘discipline implemented regarding certain tactics used by one officer.’
Schneider was suspended for 30 hours and remains on active duty.
Schneider is esteemed within the Glendale Police force and has won multiple awards and even represented the department on the TV show Cops.