Joe Gutierrez, one of the two police officers, accused of pepper-spraying and pointing their guns at a Black Army officer in Windsor, Virginia, during a traffic stop, has been fired.
The incident occurred in December 2020 and just came to light via the press and social media last week. Officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker were accused of drawing their guns, pointing them at U.S. Army second lieutenant Caron Nazario, and using a slang term to suggest he was facing execution.
The town of Windsor said in a statement on Sunday, April 11, to The Associated Press that it joined calls from election officials, including Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, in requesting an investigation by Virginia State Police into the encounter.
“The Town of Windsor prides itself in its small-town charm and the community-wide respect of its Police Department,” the statement read. “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.”
Crocker wrote in his report that he believed Nazario was “eluding police” and he considered it a “high-risk traffic stop,” but Nazario’s attorney Jonathan Arthur has disputed those claims. Arthur told the AP that his client wasn’t trying to elude police but was driving to a well lit area. Nazario, who is Black and Latino, has also filed a lawsuit against the police department and the officers.
The incident has outraged many and rapper Jeezy even posted the video to his Instagram page and discussed the hostile encounter with law enforcement.
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