Caron Nazario: Windsor police officer fired over pepper-spray traffic stop

One of two police officers accused of pepper-spraying and pointing their guns at a Black US army officer during a traffic stop has been fired, a Virginia town announced late on Sunday, hours after the governor called for an independent investigation.

Saying it took the action because it “prides itself in its small-town charm and the community wide respect of its police department”, the town of Windsor said it joined calls from elected officials, including Governor Ralph Northam, in requesting an investigation by Virginia state police.

In the December 2020 encounter, two officers are accused of drawing their guns, pointing them at army second lieutenant Caron Nazario and using a slang term to suggest he was facing execution.

Nazario, who is Black and Latino, was also pepper-sprayed and knocked to the ground by the officers, Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker, according to the lawsuit he filed earlier this month against them.

The two sides in the case dispute what happened but Crocker wrote in a report that he believed Nazario was “eluding police” and he considered it a “high-risk traffic stop”. Attorney Jonathan Arthur said Nazario wasn’t trying to elude the officer but was trying to stop in a well-lit area.

In a statement on Sunday, Windsor officials said an internal investigation opened at the time determined department policy wasn’t followed. Officials said disciplinary action was taken and Gutierrez had since been fired.

Officials added that departmentwide requirements for additional training were implemented, beginning in

January.

“The town of Windsor prides itself in its small-town charm and the community wide respect of its police department,” the statement said.

“Due to this, we are saddened for events like this to cast our community in a negative light. Rather than deflect criticism, we have addressed these matters with our personnel administratively, we are reaching out to community stakeholders to engage in dialogue, and commit ourselves to additional discussions in the future.”

Northam called the encounter “disturbing”, adding that he directed state police to investigate.

“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,” Northam said.

The Windsor police chief didn’t respond to messages sent through the police department’s Facebook page over the weekend. Windsor is about 70 miles south-east of Richmond, the state capital.