Virginia cops 'threaten to execute' terrified mixed-race soldier in uniform during traffic stop, then pepper-spray him and his dog to get him to exit the SUV before beating him with knee strikes on the pavement
A second lieutenant in the U.S. Army is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop last December where officers drew their guns, pointed them at him and referenced the Green Mile to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground.
Body camera footage shows Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, was dressed in uniform with his hands held in the air outside the driver's side window of his new Chevy Tahoe as he told the armed officers: 'I'm honestly afraid to get out.'
'Yeah, you should be!' one of the officers - Joe Gutierrez - responded during the stop at a BP gas station in Windsor, Virginia.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated during the traffic stop. The two sides in the case dispute what happened after Gutierrez joined Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker in the stop.
At the time, Nazario was coming from his duty station at the U.S. Army Medical Corp and going home, attorney Jonathan Arthur said on Friday.
Body cam footage shows Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, was dressed in uniform during the December stop at the Windsor, Virginia, BP station last December
'He's a sworn member of the United States Army. He swears an oath to support to defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic—and the way these officers behaved, this implicates the oath that he takes,' Arthur said in a statement to Vice.
Asked about Nazario's condition after the incident, Arthur said: 'He's definitely not doing too well.'
Crocker radioed he was attempting to stop a vehicle with no rear license plate and tinted windows on U.S. Route 460. He said the driver was 'eluding police' and he considered it a 'high-risk traffic stop,' according to a report he submitted afterward and which was included in the court filing.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated during the traffic stop. Officers claimed there was no rear license plate but they would eventually see it at the lit gas station
Lawsuit names Windsor police officers Daniel Crocker (right) and Joe Gutierrez (left) as defendants in the matter
Arthur said Nazario explained at the time that he wasn't trying to elude the officer, but was trying to stop in a well-lit area 'for officer safety and out of respect for the officers.' The lawsuit states that it took roughly one minute and 40 seconds for Nazario to pull over after the officer initiated the stop.
Gutierrez was driving by when he heard Crocker's call, saw him attempting to stop the SUV and decided to join the traffic stop. Gutierrez acknowledged that Nazario's decision to drive to a lit area happens to him 'a lot, and 80% of the time, it's a minority,' Arthur said, quoting the officer.
The lawsuit says by the time the two officers reached Nazario's SUV, the license plate was visible in the rear.
Nazario drove his SUV to a well-lit gas station where, according to the lawsuit, the two officers got out and immediately drew their guns and pointed them at Nazario after they got out of their cars. The officers then attempted to pull Nazario out of the vehicle while he continued to keep his hands in the air. Gutierrez then stepped back and pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times as officers yelled for him to get out of the car.
'I don't even want to reach for my seatbelt, can you please? ... My hands are out, can you please - look, this is really messed up,' Nazario stammered upon being pepper-sprayed, his eyes clenched shut.
Nazario leans outside the driver's side window of his new Chevy Tahoe as he told the armed officers: 'I'm honestly afraid to get out.' 'Yeah, you should be!' one of the officers - Joe Gutierrez - responded
Gutierrez pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times as officers yelled for him to get out of the car. The lawsuit adds that Nazario's dog, which was inside a crate in the back of the SUV, started choking as a result of the pepper spray
The lawsuit adds that Nazario's dog, which was inside a crate in the back of the SUV, started choking as a result of the pepper spray.
The officers shouted conflicting orders at Nazario, telling him to put his hands out the window while also telling him to open the door and get out, the lawsuit says. At one point, Gutierrez told Nazario he was 'fixin´ to ride the lightning,' a reference to the electric chair which was also a line from the movie 'The Green Mile,' a film about a Black man facing execution.
'This is a colloquial expression for an execution, originating from glib reference to execution by the electric chair,' the lawsuit contends.
Bodycam footage shows the moment Gutierrez made the comment towards Nazario, leaving him dumbfounded.
Nazario eventually got out of the vehicle and again asked for a supervisor. Gutierrez responded with 'knee-strikes' to his legs, knocking him to the ground, the lawsuit says
The two officers struck him multiple times, the lawsuit says and as seen in the footage
Nazario eventually got out of the vehicle and again asked for a supervisor. Gutierrez responded with 'knee-strikes' to his legs, knocking him to the ground, the lawsuit says. The two officers struck him multiple times, then handcuffed and interrogated him. Medics would also arrive to see to Nazario, who reported that his eyes were burning.
During the interrogation, Gutierrez told Nazario that the issue escalated because he hadn't exited his vehicle, the lawsuit states.
He was also told that he could leave without charges if he would 'chill and let this go,' according to the lawsuit. Otherwise he would have to face charges and risk consequences in his military career.
'I made the decision to release him without charges,' Gutierrez said in an incident report, submitted in the lawsuit as an exhibit, reads. '
The reason for this decision is simple; the military is the only place left where double jeopardy applies. Meaning that regardless of what happened in civilian court the military could still take punitive actions against him.'
'Being a military veteran, I did not want to see his career ruined over one erroneous decision.'
The traffic stop was captured on Nazario's cellphone video, and the body-worn cameras worn by Crocker and Gutierrez, according to the lawsuit.
Medics would also arrive to see to Nazario, who reported that his eyes were burning
During police interrogation, Gutierrez told Nazario that the issue escalated because he hadn't exited his vehicle, the lawsuit states. He was also allegedly told that he could leave without charges if he would 'chill and let this go'
'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 says.
Arthur added that Nazario hopes the lawsuit shows 'that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.'
The AP reached out to Windsor police for comment, but an email was not returned and their voice mailbox was full. No one answered the phone at a number listed for Crocker on Friday.
Crocker and Gutierrez still work for the department, the town manager told The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk. Windsor is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Richmond.
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