An Arizona man sustained severe burns to his hands and experienced nerve damage after catching fire when a federal wildlife officer deployed a taser near a gas pump on July 16. The incident occurred at a Thalypo gas station.
The man, identified as Clarence Coyl, told Fox 10 Phoenix that the officer had initially confronted him and a passenger for allegedly driving through an open gate at the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge approximately 20 minutes earlier. Coyl stated that when he was asked to leave, he questioned the officer's authority and requested a ticket, at which point the officer became confrontational.
Coyl then drove to the nearby gas station, where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife officer apprehended him. Footage from the encounter shows the officer, identified by a name tag as P. Nielsen, pointing a taser at Coyl.
"You're gonna go to jail, all I'm asking for is your license right now to identify you," the officer is heard saying in the video. Coyl questioned the reason for arrest, to which the officer responded that Coyl was not cooperating. As Coyl began to speak again, the taser was deployed, and flames erupted.
"I thought I was gonna die. Believe it or not, I went into instinct to stop, drop and roll," Coyl recounted, describing his reaction to being engulfed in flames. He stated that he waited for paramedics and was subsequently transported to a hospital. He reported suffering first and second-degree burns and significant nerve damage.
Coyl also noted that no law enforcement officers followed up on the incident to file a report or question him, nor did anyone from law enforcement visit him at the hospital. He has since struggled mentally with the event, experiencing nightmares and flashbacks.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has confirmed that an investigation into the taser deployment is underway. A spokesperson stated, "Consistent with DOI policy, all such deployments undergo review, and we are unable to comment further while that process is ongoing." The incident raises questions about the officer's adherence to policies that may prohibit the use of tasers near potentially explosive or flammable materials.