A shocking cellphone video has ignited national outrage after capturing the moment an Arizona man was engulfed in flames when a federal wildlife officer allegedly deployed a Taser just feet away from a gas pump.
The incident happened on July 18 at a gas station on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation in Arizona. According to Clarence “Chuck” Coyl, he had just left the nearby Havasu National Wildlife Refuge after being told he and a friend could not fish there. Coyl says the same officer later confronted him at the gas station and demanded identification.
Video recorded by Coyl shows him repeatedly asking why he was being detained. Moments later, the officer appears to fire a Taser. The phone falls to the ground, flames suddenly erupt beneath a nearby truck, and Coyl can be heard screaming in agony as he catches fire. A second video, filmed by a bystander, also appears to show the Taser deployment immediately followed by the blaze.
Coyl says he suffered first- and second-degree burns along with nerve damage to his fingers. He was hospitalized and says he has not been charged with any crime. Through civil rights attorney Ben Crump, he has announced plans to pursue legal action against the officer.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that its officer deployed a Taser during the encounter but declined to discuss the specifics, stating that every Taser deployment is reviewed under agency policy. The investigation remains ongoing.
The viral footage has fueled questions about police use of force and whether a Taser should ever be used in close proximity to gasoline or other flammable materials.
As investigators review the incident, one haunting image remains impossible to forget: a routine stop at a gas station that ended with a man running through flames, screaming for help.
