A man stopped for littering in Downtown is accused of assaulting two El Paso police officers with one of their Tasers before running off with a handcuff dangling from his wrist.
A violent encounter occurred after two officers with the Metro Unit allegedly saw 27-year-old Angel Eduardo Zamora littering at about 3:40 p.m. on Labor Day Monday.
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A police news statement explained that littering is a nuisance that impacts Downtown merchants and visitors and generally results in a warning or a citation.
But Zamora ran from the officers and allegedly began fighting when they caught up with him, police stated. During the struggle, Zamora pulled an officer's Taser from its holster, fired it at the officers and then pushed the Taser against one officer and discharged it. Zamora then hit the other officer in the face with the Taser before runningaway.
On emergency police radio traffic, a female officer requesting backup could be heard yelling the officers' location in the "700 block of South El Paso" Street as other officers started rolling to the area to help. The female officer reported the fleeing suspect was handcuffed on the right wrist and had taken a Taser, which was recovered after he dropped it, and was running through an alley.
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Police quickly found Zamora on the second floor of an apartment building on South Oregon Street in front of historic Sacred Heart Church, police said. He was in custody by 3:51 p.m., according to police radio traffic.
Zamora was arrested on charges of two counts of assault on a peace officer, taking a weapon from a peace officer, resisting arrest, evading arrest and escape. He is being held on a total bond of $80,000 at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.
El Paso County Jail records show Zamora was arrested and booked by U.S. Border Patrol for illegal re-entry in July 2021 and again in 2015 and 2014.
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