A jury reached a verdict for the lawsuit filed by U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario, who was held at gunpoint, pepper-sprayed and handcuffed for tinted windows and a missing rear license plate in 2020.
A federal jury awarded Nazario less than $4,000 in the complaint from the viral traffic stop involving Virginia police officers.
“It adds insult to injury,” Thomas Roberts, attorney for Nazario, said after the jury verdict.
Nazario was seeking nearly $1.5 million in punitive and compensatory damages. In his federal lawsuit, he claimed Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker and former officer Joe Gutierrez violated his constitutional rights through the use of excessive force and unlawful search and seizure. Gutierrez was fired from the department in April 2021 by the Windsor, Virginia, town manager for excessive force.
“It is unlikely that the verdict will send a message to police officers other than to let them know that this behavior will not result in any meaningful consequences,” Roberts said in a statement.
Nazario, who is Black and Latino, was driving his SUV at night on Dec. 5, 2020, when Crocker pulled him over. The traffic stop was for tinted windows and no rear license plate. As Crocker activated his police lights, Nazario continued slowly driving for less than a mile until he pulled over into a nearby gas station where it was well-lit.
Bodycam video shows the interaction as officer Gutierrez points his gun toward Nazario while instructing him to exit his SUV. Nazario puts his hands outside the vehicle while repeatedly asking, “what’s going on?”
At this point, Nazario positions his cellphone to record from inside his SUV, claiming he’s afraid to get out of his vehicle. Gutierrez and Crocker kept their guns drawn toward a frightened Nazario while instructing him out of his SUV. Gutierrez is heard saying, “what’s going on is you’re fixin’ to ride…
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