The officer who pulled a gun on a mixed-race Army lieutenant and pepper-sprayed him during a traffic stop has been sacked following an internal investigation.
In bodycam footage from December, Army Lt. Caron Nazario was seen getting pepper-sprayed and beaten by the police who stopped him because his new SUV didn’t have a rear license plate.
After Nazario came to a stop at a gas station in Virginia, Windsor Police Officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker closed in on him with their guns pointed at the soldier.
After Nazario complied by putting his hands out of the window, Officer Gutierrez ordered him to get out of the vehicle. Scared for his own safety, the soldier said he was afraid to leave his vehicle, prompting the cop to tell him that he should be afraid.
As the escalation progressed, Gutierrez pepper-sprayed Nazario before forcing him out of the SUV and striking his knees.
Following the incident, it was revealed that Nazario was in his new SUV when he was pulled over. Since the vehicle was still new, the Army lieutenant was using a temporary paper tag instead of the rear license plate.
Meanwhile, the soldier filed a lawsuit stating he offered no resistance or provocation during the traffic stop. Nevertheless, according to the papers, he was pepper-sprayed and struck in the knees while being detained.
While Officer Crocker previously wrote he considered the traffic stop to be a “high-risk” one because Nazario didn’t stop right away, the suit argues that Nazario simply wanted to stop in a well-lit area because it was dark outside.
Following an internal investigation, the Town of Windsor confirmed that Gutierrez has been fired for not following the Windsor PD policy. As of this writing, Officer Daniel Crocker, who played a lesser role in the confrontation, remains on the force.
“The pursuit and ultimate stop resulted in the use of pepper spray against Lt Nazario by Officer Gutierrez,” the official statement reads.
“As a result of this use of force, Department policy requires an internal investigation to determine the appropriateness of such actions. The investigation of this event began immediately.
“At the conclusion of this investigation, it was determined that Windsor Police Department policy was not followed. 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 April 11 release adds: “The Town of Windsor has remained transparent about this event since the initial stop, and has openly provided documents and related video to attorneys for Lt Nazario.
“The Town will continue to provide information related to this event in its commitment to openness. The Town has also requested an investigation of this event by the Virginia State Police, and joins with elected officials who have called for a full and complete review of the actions of these officers.”
Directing Virginia State Police to run an independent investigation was Virginia Governor Ralph Northam who called the video showing Officer Gutierrez pepper-spraying the soldier disturbing and angering.
“The incident in Windsor is disturbing and angered me – and I am directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation,” the governor expressed in a statement.
“Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable.”
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Replaced!