Overview
- Cellphone footage shows a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer deploy a Taser at a Fort Mojave gas station and flames erupt at the pump seconds later on July 16.
- The video records the confrontation and the officer demanding identification, and the uniform shown in footage reads “P. Nielsen,” though the agency has not publicly confirmed the officer’s identity.
- The man in the video, Clarence Coyl, says he suffered first- and second-degree burns, nerve damage, and was treated at a hospital where he says no officers followed up.
- The Department of the Interior’s policy advises against using electronic control devices near flammable or explosive materials, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said the taser deployment is under review.
- Because the encounter began after an alleged refuge trespass and occurred on tribal reservation land, the case raises questions about federal enforcement practices and the outcome of the internal review will be key to any accountability or policy changes.