Virginia investigates after police use pepper spray on Black U.S. Army officer

Reuters
·2 min read
U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Caron Nazario exits after being sprayed at a gas station during violent traffic stop in Windsor

(Reuters) - Virginia's attorney general has directed his civil rights office to investigate a possible "pattern of misconduct" by police in the town of Windsor after officers drew their guns and used pepper spray on a Black uniformed U.S. Army officer during a traffic stop.

Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps, filed a lawsuit this month against Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker, officers in the police department in the town of about 2,600 people in southeastern Virginia, over the incident that occurred in December.

The lawsuit said the traffic stop "was ostensibly for the lack of a rear license plate, though the temporary tags were affixed to the back of the vehicle and visible." Body camera footage showed the officers pointing their guns at Nazario, using pepper spray and knocking him to the ground.

"My Office of Civil Rights will be looking into whether there's been a pattern of misconduct with these officers or broadly with the department as a whole," Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

There is heightened concern in the United States over racial justice and police use of force after a series of incidents including the deadly arrest of a Black man named George Floyd last May by a white policeman in Minneapolis. Protests have flared again in Minnesota after a police officer fatally shot a Black man in another traffic stop.

In an interview with CNN on Monday night, Herring called the conduct of the Windsor officers "appalling" and "dangerous," saying he saw nothing in the video that would justify their actions.

The lawsuit accused the officers of violating the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures, assault and other claims. Gutierrez was fired after an investigation determined he did not follow police department policies, the town said in a statement https://www.windsor-va.gov/news/article/april/11/2021/press-release-on-police-stop-of-december-5%2C-2020 Sunday.

(Reporting by Maria Caspani; Editing by Will Dunham)

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Boeing Earnings Due; Is The Bad News Priced Into The Dow Aerospace Giant?

    Boeing earnings for Q1 out early Wednesday will be bleak. A lot of bad news is priced into the Dow aerospace giant, but analysts see a return to profitability by Q3.

  • Senators hope TikTok will remain in business in US under new owner

    Two U.S. senators said they hope TikTok will remain in business in the U.S. under a new owner as the chamber prepared to vote on Tuesday on legislation requiring Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the popular short video app's U.S. assets. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, a Democrat, said lawmakers recognized that the short video app is used by 170 million Americans, especially young people. Driven by concerns that China could access Americans' data or surveil them with the app, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation on Saturday that would give ByteDance nine months to divest TikTok with a possible three-month extension.

  • Dow Jones Futures: Stock Market Rallies, But Big Tests Loom; Tesla Jumps On Affordable EV Relief

    The rally attempt gained steam Tuesday, but big tests loom. Tesla leapt as it signaled a cheap EV is on track. Elon Musk is on deck.

  • North Carolina man sentenced to six years in prison for attacking police with pole at Capitol

    WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who became a fugitive after a federal jury convicted him of assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison. David Joseph Gietzen, 31, of Sanford, North Carolina, struck a police officer with a pole during a mob's Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Gietzen told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols that he didn't intend to hurt anybody that day. But he didn't express any regret or remorse for his actions on Jan. 6, when

  • Texas Instrument stock rises on Q1 revenue beat, outlook

    Texas Instruments (TXN) reported first-quarter revenue that topped estimates and providing an upbeat outlook for the upcoming quarter. The semiconductor giant reported revenue of $3.66 billion, exceeding expectations of $3.6 billion. Furthermore, the company's forward guidance has surpassed expectations, forecasting revenue of up to $3.9 billion, where analysts were expecting $3.78 billion. Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman and Jared Blikre break down the report. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Angel Smith

  • Gary Glitter victim says she’ll ‘never get any peace’ after singer raped her

    ITV's new documentary Glitter: The Popstar Paedophile examines the crimes of shamed singer and convicted paedophile Gary Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd.

  • GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks gear up for Big Tech earnings; yen touches multi-year lows

    Global shares rose on Tuesday, with investors on Wall Street focused on earnings reports from the U.S. megacaps, and the yen tumbled to multi-year lows against the dollar and the euro. Treasury yields dipped after data showed U.S. business activity cooled to a four-month low. Easing concerns about the threat of a major re-escalation of tension in the Middle East and a focus on company earnings brought renewed risk appetite from investors.

  • UPDATE 1-Senators hope TikTok will remain in business in US under new owner

    Two U.S. senators said they hope TikTok will remain in business in the U.S. under a new owner as the chamber prepared to vote on Tuesday on legislation requiring Chinese owner ByteDance to divest the popular short video app's U.S. assets. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, a Democrat, said lawmakers recognized that the short video app is used by 170 million Americans, especially young people. Driven by concerns that China could access Americans' data or surveil them with the app, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation on Saturday that would give ByteDance nine months to divest TikTok with a possible three-month extension.

  • Citi sees chance of Fed rate cut in June or July: Economist

    The Federal Reserve's case on whether or not to cut interest rates in 2024 is still not settled, leading many Wall Street analysts to adjust their forecasts for a market (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) coming to terms with a revised rate reality. Citigroup strategists, however, have stayed firm in their beliefs that there will be rate cuts as early as June or July. Citi Economist Veronica Clark joins Market Domination to discuss why Citi's Fed forecasts aren't budging. Clark states plainly: "We have a base case for June still and it very well could be July, but I think the fundamental difference for us is that we really do see this Fed as having a more dovish reaction function. It's not that we see some magical slowing in the inflation data, if anything we think inflation is pretty sticky, but we think this is a Fed that is looking at some of this labor market data, even survey data that we had this morning and the PMI services employment number, and really getting worried that we might be entering a weaker labor market and really wants to prevent that." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • Arsenal vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result and reaction as Gunners’ run riot after White and Havertz goals

    Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea: Kai Havertz and Ben White both scored twice as the Gunners go three points clear at the top of the table

  • Chelsea’s collapse at Arsenal was humiliating, inevitable, and their lowest point yet

    Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea: Without Cole Palmer, Mauricio Pochettino’s side crumbled as Kai Havertz scored twice against his former club

  • Woman's ‘Bold’ Text to Grubhub Driver Really Delivered — They're Getting Married Next Year!

    "The right one will come when you’re least expecting it," Hannah Bullerman tells PEOPLE

  • Cree daycares integrate new culture and language programming

    by Patrick Quinn Childcare centres across Eeyou Istchee are undergoing significant changes to better reflect the Cree way of life. “Our main focus is that Cree culture and language is the basis of our programming,” said Kelly-Lee Pepabano, director of the Miyuuhpichinaausuwin Apatisiiwin department, which supports the region’s early childhood programs. “We wanted to ensure we don’t lose our language and promote it as much as we can.” The department was formerly called Child and Family Services,

  • Kai Havertz bags brace against former employers as Arsenal hammer Chelsea

    Ben White also scored twice after Leandro Trossard put the Gunners ahead.

  • Biden trolls Trump over Bible grift as he slams abortion bans that ‘rip away rights of women’

    President’s re-election campaign believes the Sunshine State — which hasn’t gone to a Democrat in a presidential election since 2012 — is now seriously in play

  • George Santos Ends Independent Run for Congress in Surprise Move

    Drew AngererDisgraced ex-Republican George Santos has killed his short-lived bid for a new seat in Congress, announcing his withdrawal from the race for New York’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday.“I have decided to withdraw from my independent run for #NY1,” Santos wrote on X. He added that he didn’t want his run to be portrayed as a “reprisal against” incumbent Nick LaLota, a fellow GOP rep Santos has said he personally dislikes.Still, Santos didn’t miss the chance to throw one last parti

  • Jenny McCarthy Phones Into “Blue Bloods' ”Reagan Family Dinner Scenes While Husband Donnie Wahlberg Is on Set

    McCarthy and Wahlberg cope with distance in their marriage by making FaceTime their best friend — and they even fall asleep with it

  • Vermont State Senator Robert Starr will not seek reelection

    Vermont State Senator Robert Starr will not seek reelection

  • Biden blasts Florida's 6-week abortion ban, blames Trump for 'this nightmare'

    President Joe Biden traveled to Florida Tuesday to condemn the state's upcoming 6-week abortion ban and blame rival Donald Trump for that law as well as other restrictions across the country that have imperiled access to care for pregnant women.

  • The yield curve has been inverted for 18 months without a downturn - but the famed indicator isn't wrong, and a recession is near, strategist says

    The inverted yield curve has predicted every recession since 1955, and this time won't be different, Paul Dietrich said.