Clayton officer fired, charged in cafe incident
Police say teen was threatened, grabbed
SANTA FE — A then-Clayton police officer was arrested last week for pointing his Taser at the midsection of a teenage cafe waitress before pulling the trigger without shocking her, then pulling her onto his lap, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
Clayton Montoya, 23, was arrested by State Police on April 9 and charged with false impr is - onment , aggravated assault and battery, the court documents state. The Clayton police chief f ired Montoya effective April 10, the chief told a Texas TV station.
According to a police state- ment filed in court, Montoya, in full uniform, went into the cafe on April 8 just before 6:30 p.m. while the 17-yearold waitress was working alone and started talking to her. “Montoya unholstered his Taser Conducted Electrical Weapon, activated it and pointed the laser light” at the girl’s midsection.
She later told police she was scared and that “Montoya was laughing and then pointed the Taser away from her and pulled the trigger,” a statement says.
The teen could “hear ‘buzzing’ of electricity like it was charging.”
The girl’s father called on the cafe phone, and she was speaking with him when Montoya grabbed her “with both of his hands on her hip area and forced her to sit on his lap.” She tried to get up, but Montoya grabbed her and “forced her to sit back down on his lap,” the documents state.
The teen’s mother came in and her daughter took that
opportunity to get up, and “officer Montoya immediately jumped up.” Montoya allegedly said, “You got me here.” The girl’s mother told her to tell Montoya to leave and he did.
After leaving, Montoya allegedly sent a Snapchat message to the teen saying, “Don’t say anything please, I’m going to lose my job,” according to the documents.
Montoya, who had been with the police department for four months, made a first appearance Monday before Clayton Magistrate Court Judge Felix Pena but did not enter a plea and was scheduled to be released from the Union County Jail on Monday on $1,000 bond.
His imprisonment and assault charges are fourthdegree felonies and the battery charge is a petty misdemeanor.