Virginia cop who pepper-sprayed Black Army lieutenant fired as governor calls for independent investigation
A Virginia police department has fired the officer who pepper-sprayed a uniformed Army medic as the driver had his hands in the air in a disturbing traffic stop that has prompted a federal lawsuit and calls for an independent investigation, officials announced Sunday.
Now-former Officer Joe Gutierrez was one of two cops seen on police body-cam footage repeatedly shouting at 27-year-old Caron Nazario after stopping him on Dec. 5 in the small town of Windsor. The second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, who is Black and Latino, was driving his brand new car that night when he noticed the police lights behind him and decided to head to a well-lit area for his safety, according to a lawsuit filed this month.
The shocking police video shows the moment he parked at a BP gas station with both cops aiming their guns at him as he asked multiple times why he was being pulled over and admitted, “I’m honestly afraid to get out of the car.”
Gutierrez promptly responded, “Yeah, you should be!”
The police department launched an internal investigation “immediately” after the incident and determined the officers’ actions were not consistent with its policies, the agency said in a statement. Gutierrez was fired after the probe was completed and “department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented” in January as a result, according to the statement.
It was not immediately clear if the other officer involved in the incident, Daniel Crocker, has faced any disciplinary actions.
Department officials said they have been transparent throughout the process, provided documents and body-cam videos to Nazario’s attorney and requested a separate investigation by Virginia State Police.
Gov. Ralph Northam, who said he was “disturbed and angered” by the footage, has since directed state police to conduct an independent investigation.
“Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure that Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable,” he said in a statement Sunday, adding that he has invited Nazario to meet with him.
The two officers wrote in their incident reports that they stopped Nazario over his “extremely” dark tinted windows and because they couldn’t see his rear license plate. They also accused the driver of “eluding police,” repeatedly failing to comply with their commands to get out of the car and slapping their hands away at one point.
Nazario’s temporary license plate was posted in the rear window of his Chevrolet Tahoe the entire time, according to his lawsuit. He said he didn’t immediately pull over but slowed down, activated his turn signals and drove for less than a mile until he found a well-lit gas station.
The video, obtained by The Virginian-Pilot last week, shows the officers telling him to get out of the SUV more than a dozen times. They also shouted inconsistent commands at Nazario, telling him to get out of the car while also telling him to keep his hands outside the window, according to the video and the lawsuit.
After Nazario repeatedly asked what he had done wrong, one of the officers said he was not being “cooperative,” the video shows.
At one point during the encounter, Gutierrez pepper-sprayed Nazario several times, which caused “substantial and immediate pain, choking and blinding him, causing his lungs and throat face and skin to burn,” the lawsuit says. Nazario’s dog, who was in the back seat, was also hit by the substance and began choking, according to the complaint.
Gutierrez was also heard telling Nazario that he was “fixin’ to ride the lightning,” an apparent reference to an execution by electric chair.
“These cameras captured footage of 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,” the lawsuit states.
After Nazario got out of the car, Gutierrez “responded with knee-strikes” to his legs, knocking him to the ground, the suit claims. Nazario was not arrested, but his lawyer says the cops tried to “extort silence” from him by not filing charges.
The federal complaint accuses Crocker and Gutierrez of false imprisonment, illegal search, assault, battery and violating Nazario’s First and Fourth Amendment rights. The Army medic is seeking $1 million in damages.
