Black soldier feared for his life during traffic stop, suit says. He wants $1 million

A U.S. Army lieutenant’s lawsuit argues two police officers assaulted him when he was pulled over, pepper sprayed and handcuffed during a traffic stop in Virginia. He is seeking $1 million in damages.

At the time, Lt. Caron Nazario — a Black and Latino soldier in uniform who didn’t know why he was being pulled over — feared for his life and believed it was a “very real possibility” he’d be murdered in the gas station parking lot in Windsor, Virginia on Dec. 5, 2020, according to a complaint.

Before pepper spray was used, the two Windsor police officers, Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker, are seen pointing guns at Nazario, who is heard repeatedly asking the pair what is happening, police body camera footage made public by the town shows. In response, Gutierrez tells the soldier he’s“‘fixin’ to ride the lightning” — a colloquial expression understood by Nazario as an execution threat, the complaint states.

A trial for the civil case scheduled to last five days began Jan. 9 in federal court in Richmond, court records show.

Nazario, who is also accusing Gutierrez and Crocker of falsely imprisoning him and illegally searching his vehicle for a gun, says the incident left him with “lingering” mental anguish and fear, according to the complaint. He was never charged with a crime.

In April 2021, Gutierrez was fired as a result of an internal investigation into the traffic stop, according to a statement provided to McClatchy News by Windsor Town Manager William Saunders.

Meanwhile, Crocker still works for the department, according to the Associated Press.

McClatchy News contacted attorneys representing Gutierrez and Crocker for comment on Jan. 9 and didn’t immediately receive a response.

Nazario’s attorney Andrew T. Bodoh told McClatchy News in a statement on Jan. 9 that they “look forward to presenting Lt. Nazario’s case to the jury this week” and “appreciate the support so many in the public have shown” to Nazario.

Nazario tells officers he’s ‘afraid’ to get out of his car

The evening of Dec. 5, 2020, Nazario was driving his new Chevrolet Tahoe in Windsor with temporary license plates taped inside his windows, including one placed on his rear window, according to the complaint and the officers’ body camera footage shared to YouTube.

This is when Crocker began to pull Nazario over and Gutierrez joined, the complaint states.

In August 2022, a federal judge decided the officers had probable cause to pull over Nazario because the license plate “was not in the correct position and was not visible,” court documents state.

While being pulled over, Nazario argues he slowed down and used his turn signal to show he was going to comply with police. Because it was dark outside, Nazario says he drove for less than a mile before pulling over into a lit gas station parking lot.

At the gas station, body camera video shows the officers getting out of their cars, pointing guns at Nazario and ordering him to get out of his vehicle Meanwhile, the soldier is heard asking what’s happening.

Moments after Gutierrez warns Nazario he’s “‘fixin’ to ride the lightning,” Nazario remains in his vehicle but holds his hands up and out of the window, saying “I’m honestly afraid to get out,” according to the footage.

“Yeah you should be,” Gutierrez is heard saying in response with his gun pointed inches away from Nazario, the complaint and video shows.

The complaint argues that “Lt. Nazario continued to protest his innocence and his confusion as to why he was being threatened with death. He stated correctly that he has committed no crimes (especially no crimes which would warrant two officers, with their guns trained on him, to threaten him with summary execution).”

Then, Gutierrez is heard telling Nazario he was stopped for a traffic infraction but that he is now being detained for obstruction of justice, according to the video.

The soldier is pepper sprayed in the face

The incident escalates when Gutierrez repeatedly pepper sprays Nazario in the face “without warning,” causing immediate pain to the soldier and to his dog sitting in a crate in the vehicle, the complaint states.

With Nazario blinded and choking from the pepper spray, he lets Gutierrez remove him from the car as the officer forces the soldier to the ground “down on his face” after hitting his legs with knee-strikes, according to the complaint.

Eventually, Nazario was put in handcuffs while Crocker searched his vehicle for a potential gun, according to the complaint. The lawsuit argues this search was illegal.

When Crocker found Nazario had a gun, he checked if the weapon was stolen before putting it back inside the car when realizing it was “clean,” the complaint states.

In the judge’s August decision, he ruled that while Nazario can argue he was falsely imprisoned, assaulted and had his car illegally searched in court, the officers are protected by federal immunity laws when it comes to Nazario’s allegations of their use of excessive force and unreasonable seizure, according to the AP.

The town’s reaction to the traffic stop

In April 2021, the town of Windsor announced Gutierrez’s firing and said Windsor Police Department policy “was not followed” during the Dec. 5, 2020 traffic stop, according to the statement provided by Saunders.

The statement said the town has “remained transparent about this event” when it came to providing evidence including documents and video.

Three separate videos of the officers’ body camera footage have been published to the town’s website.

Windsor is a small town located about 70 miles southeast of Richmond.

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