The Virginia Attorney General's office is settling a lawsuit it filed against the Town of Windsor after a Black and Latino soldier was pepper-sprayed and forced to the ground during a traffic stop, officials announced Thursday.
Body camera footage released from the December 2020 incident showed Windsor Police Department officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker with guns drawn, demanding U.S. Army Lt. Caron Nazario get out of his black SUV. Nazario pled for the reason he was being pulled over before the officers pepper sprayed him while he was in his car.
His eyes shut in pain as he resisted the impulse to wipe them, Nazario told the officers: “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.”
The officers later forced him to the ground and handcuffed him.
The former attorney general of Virginia, Mark Herring, filed a lawsuit against the Town of Windsor in 2021, alleging that its law enforcement officers engaged in discriminatory policing practices. The suit was made following a months-long investigation into Windsor police traffic stops.
The town of Windsor also agreed to more officer training as part of a settlement agreement signed Thursday. In exchange, the state Attorney General’s Office will drop its argument that Windsor police broke a new law by depriving Nazario of his rights.
On Thursday, the current state attorney general, Jason Miyares, announced the end of the legal battle on the basis that Windsor would obtain accreditation from the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission. The process requires the Windsor Police Department to “raise the bar on its internal investigation processes and officer training,” the state Attorney General's Office said.
The police department will also be required to submit to independent third-party reviews for complaints involving serious misconduct or use of force, the state Attorney General's Office said.
Miyares said the 2020 incident demonstrated an “egregious and unjust use of power.”
“Police are the only government entity that has a monopoly on the use of force in American society, so it’s important that they be good stewards of that responsibility and strive for excellence in the administration of justice. Excessive use of force and violations of constitutional liberties will not be tolerated in Virginia,” Miyares said.
Nazario sued the two police officers for the assault during the traffic stop incident and requested $1.5 million in damages. The federal jury sided with Nazario but only ordered the officers pay $3,685 to compensate Nazario for the injuries he suffered.