Crime & Safety

Army Officer's Lawyer Seeks Funds For Suit Against VA Town Police

A law firm representing U.S. Army officer Caron Nazario has created a GoFundMe page to help pay for the Army lieutenant's legal fees.

U.S. Army officer Caron Nazario is helped by an EMT after he was sprayed with an agent by a Windsor police officer after a traffic stop on Dec. 5, 2020.
U.S. Army officer Caron Nazario is helped by an EMT after he was sprayed with an agent by a Windsor police officer after a traffic stop on Dec. 5, 2020. (Windsor Police via AP)

WINDSOR, VA — A law firm representing U.S. Army officer Caron Nazario, who can be seen in a video as he was pulled over and threatened by two police officers in Windsor, Virginia, has created a GoFundMe page to pay for the lieutenant's legal fees.

The video shows Nazario, who is Black and Latino, telling the officers he was afraid to get out of his car as guns were drawn by police. One of the officers responds by saying, "Yeah, you should be." Windsor is a small town in the Hampton Roads area.

The law firm representing Nazario, Richmond-based Thomas H Roberts and Associates PC, said it will use any additional funds it receives in the GoFundMe campaign to help other people who find themselves in similar situations as Nazario did last December.

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The lawsuit, filed against the two Windsor police officers in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk, states that on Dec. 5, 2020, Nazario, an Army second lieutenant, was passing through the town with temporary cardboard license information taped to the rear window of his newly purchased SUV. According to the lawsuit, Nazario was not speeding.

“A simple traffic stop was initiated ostensibly for the lack of a rear license plate,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Within seconds, Lt. Nazario submitted to the officer's flashing lights by slowing down, activating his turn signal and pulling into a well-lit area less than a mile away.”

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According to the lawsuit, the officers escalated the routine traffic stop to a "felony traffic stop" and a "high risk traffic stop" and immediately escalated the encounter by threatening deadly force with guns drawn.

Fearing for his life, with his hands visible and out of the window, according to the GoFundMe page, Nazario repeatedly asked "What's going on?" He was given conflicting instructions of "keep your hands outside the window" and "get out of the car now."

As seen on the video, one of the officers responded, "What's going on — you are fix'n to ride the lightning son," referring to possibly using a Taser on him.

When Nazario said, "I'm honestly afraid to get out," the officer responded, "You should be."

Nazario was then pepper-sprayed and pulled from his car and placed in handcuffs.

The incident was captured from multiple angles — police bodycam footage, Nazario’s phone and a third angle that appeared to be a security camera in the gas station that Nazario pulled into.

On Sunday, Gov. Ralph Northam directed the Virginia State Police to conduct an "independent investigation" following the encounter between Nazario and the two Windsor police officers.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said his office is looking into whether there has been a "pattern of misconduct" at the Windsor Police Department. Herring on Monday formally requested information from the police department, saying he was "deeply concerned" about the traffic stop.

Other prominent politicians in Virginia, including Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) and state Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth), pushed for federal officials to investigate the incident. “That’s like the fox guarding the henhouse,” Lucas told the Washington Post. “It has got to be an independent investigation — State Police or preferably the federal level.”

One of the officers, Joe Gutierrez, has been fired. Windsor officials have not commented on the status of the second officer, Daniel Crocker, according to the Post.

On the GoFundMe page requesting funds, the law firm says Nazario is "standing with the civil rights law firm of Thomas H Roberts and Associates PC in the breach. He is doing his part. Will you do yours?"

Visit the law firm's GoFundMe page to learn more about the fundraising campaign.

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