Black-Latino U.S. Army Officer Sues Police for Brutality During Traffic Stop

An active-duty U.S. Army Lieutenant is suing police from the Virginia town of Windsor, outside Richmond, after officers drew their guns on him, pepper-sprayed, beat, and cuffed him, and threatened his life during a traffic stop, then released him without charging any violation.

CNN reported that the lawsuit, filed in US District Court, seeks one million dollars in damages for “unlawful seizure, excessive force, illegal search, violating his First Amendment right to free speech, and common law assault, battery and false imprisonment.” After a review of body-camera footage, Windsor police announced that Officer Joe Gutierrez has been fired, but Officer Daniel Crocker remains employed by the department.

Lt. Caron Nazario was in uniform, driving his newly purchased Chevrolet Tahoe on U.S. Highway 460 at about 6:30 pm on December 5, 2020, when a patrol car signaled him with lights and siren to pull over. Slowing and putting on his blinkers, Nazario drove for a period of 100 seconds until he reached a well-lighted service station, where he entered and stopped. The reason later given for the traffic stop was that Nazario’s vehicle was missing a rear license plate.

Nazario had not yet received permanent plates, but had placed a temporary paper plate in the rear window, which might not have been visible at night due to the tint of the glass. However, an officer’s report notes the existence of the temporary plate.

These facts all seem reasonably routine and easy to clarify. Lt. Nazario did not want to stop along the side of a dark highway, where he and the officers would be in danger from passing traffic. The time he took to reach a well-lighted, safe place was not excessive, and he did not show any signs of attempting to evade the police.

In fact, by checking his speed and turning on his hazard lights, he was signaling his intention to comply. Moreover, Office Gutierrez later acknowledges on video of the incident, that Lt. Nazario's decision to drive to a lighted area “occurs a lot ... 80 percent of the time." The temporary plate was in the window. Lt. Nazario was in uniform.

Yet, officers chose to treat the stop as “high risk.” Video shows them approaching the vehicle with guns drawn, shouting at the driver to turn off the vehicle and put his hands out the window. Lt. Nazario asks several times, “What’s going on?” Officers do not inform him of the reason for the stop.

Instead, Officer Gutierrez shouts back, “What’s goin’ on? You’re fixing to ride the lightning, son,” a reference to death by electrocution. When Lt. Nazario states he is “actually afraid to get out,” Officer Gutierrez tells him, “you should be. Get out.” Quite understandable, Lt. Nazario hesitates. He continues to ask officers the reason for the stop, and insists that he does not have to get out of the vehicle for a traffic stop. Officers attempted to pull the locked door open, then pepper-spray Lt. Nazario without warning. At this point, they still have not informed the driver of the reason for the stop.

Lt. Nazario, blinded by the spray, implores, “Can you please talk to me about why this is going on?” Officers refuse to explain themselves, but force him to the ground, cuff him and threaten to tase him. After medics arrive to treat Lt. Nazario’s eyes, the tone of the police changes, as Officer Gutierrez becomes conciliatory, offering to let the whole incident go away for the sake of Lt. Nazario’s career. Ironically, Gutierrez is heard telling Lt. Nazario that he, the driver, had made the stop much harder than it had to be.

The Windsor Police Department conducted an investigation that found “policy was not followed.” The statement from Town Manager William Saunders, said, “This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment."

The video footage, which included Lt. Nazario’s own cell phone recording, drew condemnation from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who labeled the incident "disturbing" and directed the Virginia State Police “to conduct an independent investigation."

The highly belligerent and unprofessional conduct by police is readily evident to anyone who views the video. That should include any judge or jury acting as fact-finders in Lt. Nazario’s lawsuit. For the lieutenant and future drivers who could be at the mercy of hot-headed, reactionary officers, we urge them to return an appropriate verdict.