Caron Nazario: Army officer feared for his life during a traffic stop in Virginia, lawyer says

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“He was terrified that if he moved his hands down where Officer Gutierrez could have seen them to unbuckle that seat belt, they would have killed him,” said Jonathan Arthur, attorney for 2nd Lieutenant Caron Nazario, who is black and Latino. . .

The Windsor, Virginia, officers raised their weapons, sprayed pepper, and pushed Nazario to the ground during the traffic stop last December. During the stop, police officers believed the army officer was missing a license plate number on his new SUV.

Nazario has filed a lawsuit seeking $ 1 million in damages because he claims the two agents violated his rights guaranteed under the First and Fourth Amendments. The indictment, filed in the US District Court and first reported by the Virginian Pilot, alleges that the officers used excessive force during the December stop.

CNN has unsuccessfully tried to reach agents, Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker, for comment. It is unclear whether they have legal representation. CNN has also reached out to Windsor Police Chief Rodney Riddle and Windsor City Chiefs for comment.

News of the lawsuit comes as protesters plead for justice in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota during a traffic stop and amid the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former police officer charged with the death of George Floyd.

Arthur said Nazario had good reason to fear for his life. Guns were drawn as police approached his car and officers made conflicting demands on him, he said. In body camera footage, Gutierrez hears to Nazario that he was “about to ride a lightning bolt, son,” which describes the lawsuit as an “informal phrase for an execution,” especially with regard to the electric chair.

“You do everything right, you slow down, you submit to the authority of law enforcement, you do the right thing, you wait for a well-lit place to stop. You are on a dark road – you don’t want someone who could get hurt – and then the agents will turn around and pay back your courtesy, ”Arthur said.

Late Sunday evening, Town Manager William Saunders confirmed to CNN that Gutierrez had been fired after an investigation into the incident initiated for the use of force.

Crocker is still employed by the police, Saunders confirmed to CNN.

Caron Nazario can be seen in this still camera footage of the body holding up his hands before a police officer sprays him with pepper.

Attorney General asks for information about the stop

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring sent a request for information to the Windsor Police Department (WPD) on Monday, stating he is “very concerned” about the traffic stop.

In his letter, Herring called the way the agents behaved “dangerous, unnecessary, unacceptable and avoidable.”

Among other things, Herring’s Office of Civil Rights is requesting any records or other documentation established by the Windsor Police Department regarding the incident that occurred between the officers and on December 5, 2020; personnel records for the two WPD officers involved, WPD policies regarding the use of force, traffic stops, de-escalation, and dealings with members of the public; and complaints received by the WPD related to the use of force over the past 10 years.

Speaking to CNN’s Erin Burnett Monday night, Herring said, “The behavior of the agents we saw in the videos was horrible, dangerous and unacceptable. The hands of law enforcement, and it needs to stop.”

CNN’s Dakin Andone, Chris Boyette, Anjali Huynh, Hollie Silverman, Elizabeth Joseph, Gregory Clary and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.

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