By TMZ | Created at 2026-08-06 01:46:32 | Updated at 2026-08-06 07:25:31
6 hours ago
Arizona Man Tased by Officer at Gas Pump, Bursts Into Flames
Published August 5, 2026 5:52 PM PDT
An Arizona man's fishing trip ended with him literally going up in flames ... after a federal wildlife officer deployed a Taser while he was standing beside a gas pump.
Clarence "Chuck" Coyl captured the absolutely terrifying July 16 confrontation on video at a gas station on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation ... with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer pointing a Taser at him and demanding his ID.
Coyl asks, "What am I being arrested for?" ... and the officer tells him he's not cooperating after committing a crime.
That's when Coyl fires back, "A misdemeanor? A misdemeanor?" and starts to say, "It's a ten-dollar--" ... before the unmistakable crackle of the Taser cuts him off.
Seconds later, Coyl's phone falls, flames erupt, and he can be heard shouting in pain.
Coyl says the wild encounter began earlier at Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, where he and a friend planned to fish. According to Coyl, an officer accused the pair of trespassing and told them to leave ... so they did.
He then encountered the same officer again at the gas station.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump later posted another jaw-dropping angle of the confrontation ... showing the officer extend the Taser toward Coyl beside the pickup and fuel pump before flames suddenly burst beneath the truck.
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Coyl says he plans to take legal action after he suffered first and second-degree burns and nerve damage to two fingers ... and local reports say he has not been charged in connection with the encounter.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed its officer deployed the Taser ... adding it had no further comment on the matter.
Coyl went out looking to catch fish ... and wound up catching fire instead.
