Virginia AG launches civil rights probe of cops who detained, pepper-sprayed Black Army lieutenant

Virginia’s top prosecutor announced Monday that the state has launched a civil rights investigation into a disturbing traffic stop in which a now-fired police officer pepper-sprayed a Black and Latino Army medic who had his hands in the air.

Attorney General Mark Herring said the state’s Office of Civil Rights would be looking into whether there is a “pattern of misconduct” with the Windsor Police Department and the two officers involved in the December 2020 traffic stop, which was caught on video but only came to light after a lawsuit was filed this month.

Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, accuses the officers of violating his constitutional rights by holding him at gunpoint, assaulting him, suggesting he was facing execution and illegally detaining him. Police said he was pulled over that night for driving with “extremely” dark tinted windows and not having a license plate — even though he had a temporary one posted in the rear window of his new car.

Herring on Monday praised Nazario’s composure as “incredible” and denounced the officer’s actions during the violent encounter.

In this image made from Windsor, (Va.) Police video, Caron Nazario is helped by an EMT after he was sprayed with an agent by Windsor police after a traffic stop on Dec. 5, 2020, in Windsor, Va.

“Nothing that I saw in the video would justify the actions that the officers took. It was Lt. Nazario who was the calm one, who was the responsible one,” Herring told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

“The officers’ conduct that we saw in the videos were appalling, it was dangerous and it is unacceptable,” he said. “People of color continue to experience brutality and being pepper sprayed, even killed, at the hands of law enforcement and it’s got to stop.”

The police body-cam video shows the moment Nazario parked at a gas station with officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker both pointing their guns at him and telling him more than a dozen times to get out of the car.

The 27-year-old driver, who said police gave him conflicting orders, acknowledged he didn’t immediately pull over for them that night but slowed down, activated his turn signals and continued driving for less than a mile until he found a well-lit spot for his safety.

SEE IT: Black Army officer driving new car held at gunpoint, pepper sprayed by police during traffic stop in Virginia

“I’m honestly afraid to get out of the car,” Nazario told the officers after stopping at the BP gas station.

“Yeah, you should be!” said Gutierrez, who has since been fired.

Gutierrez was also heard telling Nazario that he was “fixin’ to ride the lightning,” an expression that refers to an execution by electric chair. The same officer also pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times as the Army medic sat in the driver’s seat with his hands up.

In their incident reports following the incident, the two cops accused the driver of “eluding police,” failing to comply with their commands and slapping their hands away at one point.

Nazario, who was not charged, has since filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages.

Windsor police said in a statement over the weekend that it launched an international investigation “immediately” after the incident and determined Gutierrez had not followed the agency’s policy. Crocker is still employed by the department.

“The Town of Windsor prides itself in its small-town charm and the community-wide respect of its Police Department,” the statement reads. “Due to this, we are saddened for events like this to cast our community in a negative light. Rather than deflect criticism, we have addressed these matters with our personnel administratively, we are reaching out to community stakeholders to engage in dialogue, and commit ourselves to additional discussions in the future.”

Virginia State Police have also launched their own investigation into the incident.