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Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, is suing two Virginia police officers over an incident that occurred last December that was caught on body camera footage in which two police officers drew their guns and pepper-sprayed him.
The incident happened in Windsor, a town located about 45 miles west of Virginia Beach.
The footage was shared online by The Associated Press. You can see Nazario, who is Black and Latino, holding his hands up as he sat in his parked car at a gas station and the cops pointing their guns at him.
WATCH: A new lawsuit claims Windsor police officers drew guns, pepper-sprayed uniformed Army officer during traffic stop. More at 5 on #13NewsNow pic.twitter.com/OQotHHnb47— Ali Weatherton 13News Now (@13AliWeatherton)
The police officers ordered Nazario to get out of his vehicle, to which he responds, “I’m honestly afraid to get out.”
“Yeah, you should be!” one of the cops said to him.
Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker radioed the station saying he was attempting to pull over a vehicle with tinted windows that appeared to not have a rear license plate, the AP reports.
Crocker reportedly labeled it a “high-risk traffic stop,” as he claimed the driver was “eluding police.”
Nazario explained that he wasn't trying. to escape the officer but was driving to find a well-lit area "for officer safety and out of respect for the officer."
Officer Joe Gutierrez responded to Crocker’s call for help and joined him in the traffic stop.
The lawsuit argued that once cops arrived at the gas station, the license plate on Nazario’s SUV was clearly visible, but the two officers immediately drew their guns and pointed them at Nazario.
One can hear Nazario trying to talk to the cops as they repeatedly command him to get out of the car.
“I have not committed any crime,” the Army officer says in the video, to which one of the officers shouts, “You’re being stopped for a traffic violation, you’re not cooperating and at this point, right now, you’re under arrest … you’re being detained for obstruction of justice.”
After one of the cops attempted to open the car door, Gutierrez stepped back and pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times.
At one point, Gutierrez tells Nazario he was “fixin’ to ride the lightning,” a reference to the electric chair and a line from the movie “The Green Mile,” in which a Black man is facing execution.
Nazario eventually exits the car, his eyes clenched shut from the pepper spray, as the officers force him to the ground and the Army officer repeatedly says, “Please talk to me about what’s going on.”
“I have not committed any crime,” the Army officer says in the video, to which one of the officers shouts, “You’re being stopped for a traffic violation, you’re not cooperating and at this point, right now, you’re under arrest … you’re being detained for obstruction of justice.”
After one of the cops attempted to open the car door, Gutierrez stepped back and pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times.
At one point, Gutierrez tells Nazario he was “fixin’ to ride the lightning,” a reference to the electric chair and a line from the movie “The Green Mile,” in which a Black man is facing execution.
Nazario eventually exits the car, his eyes clenched shut from the pepper spray, as the officers force him to the ground and the Army officer repeatedly says, “Please talk to me about what’s going on.”
The lawsuit argues in part that the footage depicts “behavior consistent with a disgusting nationwide trend of law enforcement officers, who, believing they can operate with complete impunity, engage in unprofessional, discourteous, racially biased, dangerous and sometimes deadly abuses of authority.”
Nazario’s attorney, Jonathan Arthur, told the AP that Nazario graduated from Virginia State University and was commissioned out of the school’s ROTC program, adding that “he’s definitely not doing too well” after the incident with police.
Nazario’s attorney, Jonathan Arthur, told the AP that Nazario graduated from Virginia State University and was commissioned out of the school’s ROTC program, adding that “he’s definitely not doing too well” after the incident with police.
As it now stands, Joe Gutierrez, the Windsor, VA police officer who pepper-sprayed Nazario, has been fired, the Windsor Police Department said Sunday.
In a statement released Sunday, the Windsor Police Department said it conducted an investigation into Gutierrez’s use of force, which concluded that department policy “was not followed.”
“This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment,” the department stated.
In the statement, the Windsor Police Department said it has “openly provided documents and related video to attorneys for Lt. Nazario.”
Additionally, the city officials said they requested an investigation of the event by Virginia State Police.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who was not wearing blackface nor KKK robes at this time, announced earlier Sunday that he is directing Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation into the traffic stop and use of force.
“This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment,” the department stated.
In the statement, the Windsor Police Department said it has “openly provided documents and related video to attorneys for Lt. Nazario.”
Additionally, the city officials said they requested an investigation of the event by Virginia State Police.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who was not wearing blackface nor KKK robes at this time, announced earlier Sunday that he is directing Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation into the traffic stop and use of force.
When police commit an abuse of force, it's like an airline disaster: it happens so infrequently that when it does, it makes the headlines. It isn't like automobile crashes . . . unless you're Tiger Woods.
The left will have a field day from this incident.
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