The mixed-race soldier who became victim to the police in Virginia is a second lieutenant, suing officers that were armed and did harm to him last December.
They pepper sprayed and beat the soldier at a traffic stop light, recently footage has been released from the soldier’s body camera.
Caron Nazario, Black and Latino, was dressed in uniform and was terrified for his life. He raises his hands, telling the cops that he is “honestly afraid to get out.”
Joe Gutierrez, one of the two officers being sued, responded with “Yeah, you should be!”
He tells sources that his constitutional rights have been violated, he was coming from his duty station at the U.S. Army Medical Corp, on his way home before he was stopped by the two cops at a traffic light.
Jonathan Arthur, Nazario’s attorney, comments on Nazario’s well being and he “definitely doing too well,” he tells sources.
Daniel Crocker, the second police officer, claims he was trying to stop the vehicle who had no rear license plate and had tinted windows. Due to his car’s conditions, it was considered as a “high risk traffic stop,” using this defense in court.
Nazario had no thoughts about eluding the officer, wanting to stop in an area that was well lit so that there is safety ensured on both ends for the officer and for the victim.
The first cop, Joe Gutierrez, had been driving by when Crocker radioed in, joining in on the traffic stop. Nazario acknowledges that driving to a lit area is considered an action that most minorities do when being pulled over.
The problem that escalated was that the armed officers pointed their guns at Nazario right away as he raised his hands up in defense, showing that he wasn’t armed to fight them back. Once they reached Nazario’s car, it is shown that his car did have a license plate on the back of it.
They even forced him out of the vehicle as his hands were in the air, pepper spraying him multiple times so that he could step out. Nazario stammers in attempts to leave his 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’s dog was included in the incident, riding in the back seat of the vehicle as it started choking because of the multiple times the police officers pepper sprayed Nazario.
Nazario leaves the vehicle, and is met with “knee-strikes” to the legs. He had been beaten, handcuffed, and interrogated in that moment. His eyes had been burning so he was temporarily blind, medics arrived after the scene concluded.
Nazario hopes that the lawsuit he’s created will show that “this type of behavior will not be tolerated,” especially because it seems like it was an unprofessional and racist based situation that ensued.
Replaced!