Va. Lawyer Basic’s Workplace of Civil Rights requests paperwork associated to Windsor police encounter with Lt. Caron Nazario

RICHMOND, VA. (WRIC) – The treatment of 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario while on a road obstruction in Windsor, Virginia has attracted national attention and sparked a $ 1 million lawsuit. Attorney General Mark Herring and the Civil Rights Office are now requesting numerous documents from the Windsor Police Department to investigate the tactics used against Nazario.

Nazario was stopped by Windsor cops Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker for allegedly not having a rear license plate visible on his Chevrolet Tahoe. The officers drew weapons on Nazario and sprayed him with pepper. Body cam footage of the incident, publicized by Nazario’s lawyers, has now gone viral.

The law firm that Lt. Nazario is representing the Windsor Police in a $ 1 million civil rights case, released a statement

Officer Gutierrez was released by Windsor Police on Sunday April 11, months after the traffic obstruction on December 5, 2020.

Herring says the traffic obstruction is “deeply worrying” and the officers acted “dangerous, unnecessary, unacceptable and avoidable”.

He has now requested documents directly related to the traffic obstruction, as well as years of information on training programs and guidelines for officers used by the Windsor Police Department. Hering’s office is also soliciting any complaints related to violence, traffic stops and treatment based on race over the past 10 years from the department.

Ongoing reporting related to traffic obstruction to Virginia National Guard Lt. Caron Nazario

A publication by Herring contains the full list of his inquiries:

• Any records or other documentation held by the Windsor Police Department in relation to the incident between the officers and the 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario on December 5, 2020
• Personnel files for the two WPD officers – Officer Joe Gutierrez and Officer Daniel Crocker – who were involved in the traffic obstruction on December 5, 2020
• WPD guidelines on the use of force
• WPD guidelines regarding traffic stops
• WPD guidelines regarding de-escalation and dealing with members of the public
• WPD training programs and / or materials over the past decade were related to any of the above guidelines
• Complaints received by the WPD related to the use of force over the past 10 years
• Complaints received by the WPD related to traffic stops in the past 10 years, including, but not limited to, stops where a person was detained
• Complaints received by the WPD over the past 10 years related to treatment based on race, skin color and / or national origin

Herring shared a tweet with the body cam footage on Saturday stating that his office was monitoring the situation and calling for full transparency.

The video shows nothing that could justify how Lt. Nazario was treated.

– Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) April 10, 2021

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