Lieutenant Nazario, of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, was driving to Petersburg, Va., last year when he saw police lights flashing behind him. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, Attorney General Mark Herring and U.S. Example video title will go here for this video. Nazario eventually got out of the vehicle after he was OC sprayed. Body camera video of the traffic stop showed the officers drawing their guns, pointing them at Nazario and using a slang term that Nazario was about to "ride the lightning" to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground. It would . A 2019 Virginia Department of Transportation Study reported that Route 460 carries about 17,000 vehicles a day, or about 6.2 million each year, according to the towns response, which was written by Richmond attorney John Conrad. [Gutierrez] acknowledged it was [Nazarios] right. They took half a day on Friday, they took the better part of the day today, Richard Matthews, an attorney who represented Crocker, told WTVR. BELOW: Body camera footage from Gutierrez. Now, Nazario is asking for at least $1 million in damages and for the court to rule that the two officers violated his rights, including rights under the Fourth Amendment. Windsor police issue crime alert in area on city's east end . Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, pepper-spraying a U.S. Army lieutenant during a traffic stop, moves to stay proceedings on the Complaint. The stop happened on a night in December after one of the two officers said Nazarios SUV had tinted windows and didnt have a rear license plate. The incident took place on Dec. 5, 2020, when Nazario was pulled over by officers Gutierrez and Crocker who claim Nazario did not have a rear license plate showing on his Chevrolet Tahoe. . (Photo by Oliver Contreras/SIPA USA)(Sipa via AP Images). * Security for Special Events. The Virginia National Guard has behavioral health specialists and chaplain support available to any service member impacted by this event, and unit leaders are available to have an open dialogue with their Soldiers if they have concerns. There was a temporary tag displayed in the tinted rear window. There was also no way for him to know Nazarios race, that he was in the Virginia National Guard, or why Nazario was not stopping., Richard Matthews, co-counsel to Lahren for Crocker, stated in his opening remarks that Nazario didnt suffer so much as a bruise from his encounter with Gutierrez and Crocker, and characterized the officers reactions as totally reasonable.. The Town of Windsor announced Sunday night that Gutierrez had been terminated from the police force following an internal investigation. "It is open season on citizens in Virginia and across the county," Roberts said in a statement. Updated: 4:19 PM EST February 11, 2022. The lawsuit by 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, is seeking $1 million in compensatory damages, claiming two Windsor, Virginia, police officers violated his rights guaranteed under . CNNs Jennifer Feldman, Natasha Chen, Jamiel Lynch, Dakin Andone and Chris Boyette contributed to this report. The police department provides law enforcement services to the Town of Windsor including but not limited to: * Patrol Duties. Asked by Arthur why he told the officers Im not getting out, Nazario said he believed he would be stepping right into danger if he did so. His attorney told 10 On Your Side he was scared and also confused by conflicting directions from the two officers. Jane Harper, 757-222-5097, jane.harper@pilotonline.com. EMS arrived soon after to administer aid to Nazario. He did not want to stop on a dark road, so he drove about a mile to a gas station, according to a lawsuit and video footage of the encounter. 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An Army lieutenant who sought $1 million in damages, but was awarded $3,685, in an excessive force lawsuit against two Windsor police officers has filed a motion seeking a new trial, with his. Biden surveys Ida cleanup in, Drugmaker Eli Lilly will cap the cost of insulin, Deputies searching for missing Currituck man, Police continue search for Portsmouth woman missing, Man dead after shooting at Virginia Beach hotel, Kitchen fire breaks out at Olde Huntersville home, Greek transport minister resigns over train crash;, Naval Station Yorktown built on African American, 15-year-old charged in Oscar Smith bomb threats, Supreme Court hears cases on student loan forgiveness, Crews respond to fire at Captain Ds Seafood in VB, Biden touts health care plans compared to MAGA Republicans, Investigation prompts missing persons policy change, Effects linger from wrongful accusation in Norfolk, VB hit-and-run victim still searching for justice, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. This has got to stop, said Jonathan Arthur, Nazarios Richmond-based attorney who believes his client is a victim of police brutality. A US Army officer who was pepper sprayed, pushed to the ground and handcuffed by Windsor, Virginia, police officers during a 2020 traffic stop was awarded around $3,600 Tuesday in a lawsuit. It will close again on Friday, Dec. 30 at noon and remain closed through Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. PTSD symptoms, according to the American Psychiatric Association, include nightmares or flashbacks, feeling detached or estranged. Virginias attorney general, Mark Herring, said in a statement that while our investigation was spurred by the egregious treatment against Lieutenant Nazario that we all saw in bodycam footage, we discovered that this incident was indicative of much larger problems within the department.. The federal case, which began Monday, Jan. 9, is set for a five-day jury trial in Richmond. Virginia Sues Town of Windsor, Accusing It of Discriminatory Policing, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/31/us/caron-nazario-windsor-virginia-police.html. In body camera footage, Gutierrez told Nazario that if he had just complied he would have been gone by now.. Lieutenant Nazario asked why he had been stopped and why the officers had drawn their guns. The Isle of Wight branch and the Virginia NAACP plans to hold a press conference at 6 p.m. Monday to address the incident. Nazario testified he didnt hear the ride the lighting statement correctly, and thought hed heard Gutierrez say see the light, which he took to mean death and the light of heaven. "We will be issuing subpoenas and written questions that have to be answered under oath by the defendants and we will ask for documents that they need to produce.". While they are glad Gutierrez was ultimately let go because of his actions in the incident, Arthur stated they must take this further. Now that clearly would be a violation of Lt. Nazarios constitutional rights.". Ex-Windsor Police Officer Joe Gutierrez asked the court to dismiss Army Lt. Caron Nazario's First Amendment claims because Nazario was not actually arrested, but a federal judge rejected that request, saying Gutierrez is seen in the bodycam video threatening to arrest Nazario if he chose to argue. Nazario is suing Crocker and ex-Windsor officer Joe Gutierrez over the incident. In its response, filed in Isle of Wight County Circuit Court, the town said the Black population percentages stated in the lawsuit were incorrect, but didnt provide corrected numbers. The states lawsuit seeks court-ordered policy changes in the Windsor Police Department, including that traffic stops are conducted without bias and that use of force incidents are reported in compliance with state law. The motion calls for a new trial on all claims except for the liability of assault against Gutierrez and the liability of the search against Crocker, the other officer involved in the 2020 incident. The town of Windsor said the Virginia Attorney Generals Office used flawed data to support a lawsuit accusing its police department of operating in a discriminatory way against Black motorists. Crocker was liable for an illegal search, no malice. According to the suit, 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario, an Army Medical Corps officer of Latinx and African American . Lieutenant Nazario is gratified by the outpouring of support this weekend for the civil rights lawsuit he filed last week, says a statement from Thomas H. Roberts & Associates, P.C. Caron Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated by the traffic stop in the town of Windsor in December. Brandyn Steinwender says the lawsuit he filed against Windsor police stems from what happened on Ouellette Avenue, near Park Street in the early morning hours of November 10, 2019. (Windsor Police via AP). Get your eyes back you and Smoke [Nazarios dog] can get on down the road.. * K9 Unit. Nazario, who is currently stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia, was traveling with his dog in his newly-purchased 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe West on U.S. 460 in the Town of Windsor when Officer Daniel Crocker initiated a traffic stop. Authorities respond to crash involving semi, bus in Suffolk; No one hurt. Windsor is one of nearly 100 Virginia communities to receive federal grants encouraging tickets. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Nazarios lawsuit said he wanted to stop in a safe, well-lit place and pulled over at a gas station in Windsor, which is about 30 miles west of Norfolk. The jury found Gutierrez guilty of assault and must pay him $2,685 in damages, no malice. FORECAST: No roaring lion this year to start March, Town of Windsor asks court to dismiss lawsuit for 'pattern of discriminatory policing', Trial date set for Army lieutenant's lawsuit against Windsor police officers, Black drivers more likely to be pulled over in Virginia, new state data shows. The officers faced four counts: assault, battery, false imprisonment and illegal search. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Could new DNA tech crack the JonBenet Ramsey case? A Black soldier in uniform who was pepper-sprayed in his car by Virginia police officers during a traffic stop has been awarded less than $4,000 in a million-dollar lawsuit against the two officers. This was the first time the state of Virginia has sued a law enforcement agency under a new law that gives the attorney general the right to do so in cases involving civil rights violations. In addition, the number of traffic stops and citations reported to the town council was lower than the number reported to the state for tracking and reporting purposes. Sonny Stallings is a criminal lawyer in Virginia Beach. Document reveals first known Canadian UFO study in nearly 30 years now underway. He was pulled over, pepper sprayed, and arrested without explanation.This is racism. Neither have asked for the other claim, the Fourth Amendment violation, to be dismissed. When he stopped, a Windsor police officer ordered Lieutenant Nazario, then 27, to get out of his car. On Jan. 10, day two of the trial, Nazario continued his testimony. The jury in Virginia National Guard 1st Lt. Caron Nazario's lawsuit against Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker and ex-officer Joe Gutierrez has adjourned for the weekend without reaching a verdict. The jury in Virginia National Guard 1st Lt. Caron Nazario's lawsuit against Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker and ex-officer Joe Gutierrez has adjourned for the weekend without reaching a verdict. Police said they pulled him over for not having a visible rear license plate, but in the footage, a temporary license plate can be seen in the rear window of Nazario's then-new SUV. Crockers legal team then cross examined Nazario on why he didnt stop at any closer businesses along Route 460, to which Nazario replied, Nothing stood out to me before arriving at the BP. In August, a federal judge already ruled that Crocker is liable for an illegal search, violating the 4th amendment when he searched Nazario's car. Nazario, who is of Black and Latino descent, accuses the two white officers of racially motivated police brutality while holding him at gunpoint during a Dec. 5, 2020, traffic stop and shouting conflicting commands at him to keep his hands out of his cars window and exit the vehicle. The lawsuit claims that Gutierrez said the charges could impact Nazarios career with the Army. The body cam footage shows that after pulling into the parking lot of a gas station off of Route U.S. 460 in Isle of Wight County, the officers pointed their guns at Nazario, ordered him out of his vehicle and threatened to shoot if he did not comply. In April, Lieutenant Nazario filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The federal case began Monday in Richmond, with testimony [] Updated: 1:44 PM EST January 9, 2023. Nazarios lawsuit said the vehicle was new and he didnt have permanent plates yet, but he had cardboard temporary plates taped to the inside of the rear window. The first day of Army Lt. Caron Nazario's $1 million lawsuit against Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker and ex-officer Joe Gutierrez saw Nazario himself testify. Nazario stated that he wanted to pull over in a well-lit area. An attorney for Crocker commended the jurys decision Tuesday. A lawsuit filed April 2 in Norfolk's federal court claims two Windsor police officers assaulted and threatened a person of color during a traffic stop. WINDSOR, Va. - After five days of jury deliberation, a verdict has been reached on Tuesday in the $1.5 million lawsuit filed by Army Lt. Caron Nazario, who is suing two Windsor police. Gutierrez whose employment with the department has since been terminated following an internal investigation and his partner, Daniel Crocker, are now the defendants in a lawsuit arguing that. I was shocked and immediately concerned for my safety, Nazario testified. "I'm honestly afraid to get out," Nazario said during the traffic stop. Caron Nazario was never arrested. pepper sprayed, pushed to the ground and handcuffed. The first day of Army Lt. Caron Nazario's $1 million lawsuit against Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker and ex-officer Joe Gutierrez saw Nazario himself testify. It also seeks a civil penalty of $50,000 for each proven violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act. That number was much higher than expected based on the number of Black residents in the town, the office said.