New Braunfels officials release video of Black man tased after traffic stop for ‘dirty license plate’

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – The City of New Braunfels has released  video which shows an officer pointing a gun at a Black man who was stopped for an unclean license plate in January.   Officer Kaleb Meyer is heard yelling at Clarence Crawford to put both hands on the wheel while Crawford, holding a cell phone over the wheel, repeatedly pleads with the officer not to shoot him.

Officer Meyer then pulls Crawford out of the car and puts him on the ground.   Crawford asks again why the officer pulled him over.   The video shows him being tased before another officer shows up and attempts to de-escalate the situation.

At a news conference Monday morning, New Braunfels Mayor Rusty Brockman and City Manager Robert Camareno called Meyer’s actions “unacceptable.”

“In January, Officer Kaleb Meyer conducted a traffic stop and treated one of our residents, Mr. Clarence Crawford, in a manner that is not consistent with the way our officers are trained or expected to handle a situation,” said Camareno. “This is an isolated incident and is not representative of the men and women of the New Braunfels Police Department who serve our community.”

He said they’re reviewing their officer training procedures.

“Our officers are trained to be respectful, de-escalate situations, give clear and concise commands, listen to those they interact with, and to only use force when the situation deems it necessary. That training and our expectations were not met by Officer Meyer during this traffic stop and the experience Mr. Crawford had with him is not acceptable,”said Camareno.

He went on to say that the incident “has caused the City Council and City leadership, myself included, much consternation.”

Officer Meyer resigned a few months ago.  The New Braunfels police chief also has stepped down.