Officials announced Sunday authorities would be investigating an incident caught on body-cam footage that shows officers holding a Black Army officer at gunpoint during a traffic stop.
What We Know:
- The incident occurred on December 5th when Lieutenant Caron Nazario was driving in a newly purchased Chevrolet Tahoe in Windsor, VA. Police signaled for Nazario to pull over; he turned on his emergency flashers and continued down the road slowly before stopping at a gas station less than a mile away.
- Following this, Officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker drew their guns on Nazario, who is Black and Latino. They accused him of driving without license plates. Nazario followed the officer’s commands until they became agitated, with one officer being heard on body-cam footage saying, “What’s going on? You’re fixin’ to ride the lighting, son.” In a civil lawsuit filed last week, Nazario’s lawyer, Jonathan Arthur, stated the phrase is a colloquial expression for electric chair execution.
- In body-cam footage, Nazario can be heard saying, “I’m honestly afraid to get out.” In response, Gutierrez responds, “Yeah, you should be.” Gutierrez can then be seen pepper-spraying Nazario several times and knocking him to the ground with knee strikes.
- According to the lawsuit, before officers let Nazario go, they threatened his position in the U.S. Army if he were ever to speak out. This attempt by officers to “extort” Nazario formed the core of the suit’s argument that Nazario’s First Amendment rights were violated.
- Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said the incident was “disturbing and angered me.” He went on to say, “Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure Virginians are safe during interactions with police.”
An investigation into the incident found the officers did not follow department policy. Both were disciplined and ordered to take additional training, with Gutierrez later being fired.
