Bodycam Footage Of Virginia Cops Drawing Guns And Spraying Army Lieutenant During Traffic Stop

[ItsjustMe]

(Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) - PoliceActivity


Norfolk, Virginia — Two Virginia police officers have been sued for allegedly drawing their guns on a uniformed Army officer during a traffic stop and spraying him with a substance. U.S. Army Lt. Caron Nazario was driving Dec. 5, 2020, in his newly purchased Chevrolet Tahoe when two Windsor police officers, Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker pulled over Nazario, while he was dressed in uniform, according to the lawsuit filed April 2. The officers’ body camera footage shows both exiting their patrol cars with guns drawn, while 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario had his hands held in the air outside the driver’s side window as he told the armed officers, “I’m honestly afraid to get out.” One of the officers told Nazario, “Yeah, you should be!”. The officer then pepper-sprayed Nazario, exercised knee-strikes to his legs and placed him handcuffs. The stop happened on a night in December after one of the two officers said Nazario’s SUV had tinted windows and didn’t have a rear license plate. Now, Nazario is asking for at least $1 million in damages and for the court to rule that the two officers violated his rights, including rights under the Fourth Amendment.

[Redleg]

1. It's easy to understand why this fellow was reluctant to get out of his car

After seeing what cops have done to other black men for minor infractions, I too would be afraid to get out of the car. These cops seemed over the top with their aggression. They quickly (too quickly in my opinion) escalated the situation by drawing their guns. They would not answer why they had pulled him over and demanded that he get out of the vehicle first. Cops need better training on conflict resolution and ways to reduce conflict escalation.

[pazzyanne]

4. "These cops seemed over the top with their aggression."

Exactly. A case of driving with tinted windows while black gone badly wrong. It also took over 20 minutes for the officer with the pepper spray to come down from his adrenaline drive so he could respond calmly. Simply answering the driver's initial question would have solved this problem. There needs to be some sensitivity training incorporated into their mandatory training to make them aware that black people have reason to distrust armed officers. What would the officers have done if it had been a little old white lady driving. My guess is that that would have gone down differently.

Side issue: The dog was left in the pepper sprayed car long after the Lt. told the officers it was in the car.

[greatbaldeagle]

5. It has nothing to do with law enforcement training

If it were a law enforcement training issue, we would see countless videos of cops doing this to white people. But we don’t. If it were a law enforcement training issue, we would see countless videos of black officers doing it to people since they get the same training. But we don’t. This is an issue of over-aggression against black and brown people. Plain and simple.

Similarly in the article below, training isn’t the issue.

Black newborns more likely to die when looked after by White doctors
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/health/black-babies-mortality-rate-doctors-study-wellness-scli-intl/index.html

[llashram]

12. this++

it's a goddamn RACE issue with origins in America's Slavery Era. Period. After seeing this I am completely totally enraged at the mean racist attitudes of these two wanna be slave masters. No respect EVER for dangerous racist clowns like these. I'm ashamed to have served in my time with the POC being murdered in American communities for wanting peace from a war based on a LIE. And it has not been, like the 340+ years prior, addressed.

[Redleg]

17. Are you saying that conflict de-escalation should not be taught at police academy?

I agree that they appear to treat non-whites very different than whites. I do also think that cops are often too quick to reach for their guns, even with white people. I believe they would benefit from different training AND more careful selection of officers so that they aren't hiring bigot cops or those with power trips.

[markpkessinger]

22. De-escalation training is fine so far as it goes . . .

. . . But not one should be under any illusion that the cause of this kind of police abuse is improper training.

[COL Mustard]

16. If That's Their Idea Of DE-Escalation

I'd hate to see what they would do oh, say, if a mob were storming the US Capitol.

[AZLD4Candidate]

2. Uniformed 2nd Lt. gets profiled by people claiming to protect the country

Police have shown they have no respect for even people in uniform, but will go out of their way to protect each other.

[NJCher]

3. They were hell bent on

Humiliating and making this man subservient.

I question whether they are even correct about the tag placement. I would check that out first thing.

You would have to be one ignorant $*# )”# to fail to understand why a person wouldn’t get out of the car with guns pointed at them. Not to mention the hysterical, over the top behavior of these cops. I would think they were on steroids.

And when did this happen? Do the words George Floyd mean anything to them?

[FBaggins]

6. I guess I'm one ignorant $*# )"#

I don’t see how staying in a vehicle protects me in the slightest against two drawn firearms. Whether they’re cops or two guys who had just held up the gas station... I can’t see deciding that I don’t have to do what they tell me.

Doesn’t make them right... but I don’t get it.

As for questioning the charges... you can see that the vehicle has no license plate visible... though the lawsuit says that it was

[pfitz59]

7. The cops were overly aggressive and dangerous

The lieutenant asked them to calm down. He had his hands in sight. The cops were way over-the-top. There was no time urgency in the stop. The cops are losing this one...

[FBaggins]

8. They definitely were

I just don’t see a deescalation strategy that involves refusing their orders.

People who think that officers have to convince you that you’ve committed a crime before they can tell you to exit your vehicle are simply wrong.

I don’t know whether they’ll lose this one or not... but I do know that it would be an open and shut case if they had roughed him up after he obeyed their order to exit the vehicle

[BillE]

19. He was given 2 orders

1. Keep his hands raised and in sight (para phased)
2. Get out of the vehicle

How do you comply with these 2 orders?

If he reaches down to open the door or unbuckle his seat belt, he'd probably be shot for 'going for his gun'. He's disobeying order to keep his hands in sight.

If he keeps his hands in sight he can't get out of the car.

Tell me, which command would you obey?

[Solomon]

9. There's always somebody with the "all he had to do was do what they told him to do". I wish I had a

button that could post all the videos of black men doing exactly that and still getting shot or killed.

It's perfectly okay with you guys to have the cops kill a guy for not getting out of his car when the cops had no right to order that in the first place. A fucking alleged traffic violation! Absolute power over black and brown bodies must be maintained at all costs! Even for a fucking 20 dollar bill. Any reason will do.

[llashram]

14. +++

I agree most readily...

[llashram]

13. ???

[Ohioboy]

10. The guys got a seatbelt on and they want his hands out of the car

Their commands can't even be followed without the subject doing something that will make them overreact.

[Ohioboy]

11. They want him to lie on the ground where gasoline has been spilled!

For crying out loud, everyone knows gasoline is spilled at every gas station in the world. These cops are assholes!

[Duppers]

26. Thought of that too.

This behavior is why I & others hate some cops.


I'm an old white gal who has been treated very badly by a VA state trooper one night when I was pulled over for speeding 6mph over the limit.

I called the local state trooper's office to report him after I got home but am sure nothing became of my report. I paid the fine but in retrospect I should've appeared in court just so I could have complained to the judge about his attitude & total rudeness.

[Ohioboy]

15. I see a lot of resources being wasted here...

an ambulance was called, several police cars arrived, the gas station lost the ability to do proper business while the ordeal was taking place. The cops are wrong because they sent mixed messages with their commands. He was complying with his hands out the window. Getting out would have meant his hands weren't out the window since he had his seatbelt on. It wasn't until later that the cop said "take your seat belt off". I think things would have gone much better if the cops would have just calmed down and not sent mixed messages.

[Redleg]

18. Good points

They unnecessarily escalated the situation. They are supposed to be the ones who are cool, calm, and collected in these situations so that they suspect will remain more calm and less likely to do something that will make matters worse.

[Martin68]

21. From what I could see, the cops were in total panic mode for absolutely no reason at all.

They acted like they were on meth or something. They made no sense, telling him to show his hands and turn off the car. He couldn't do both.

[Martin68]

20. I can't comprehend how any policeman who behaved like that would have a job the next day.

I can't comprehend why they would treat anybody like that. I found myself unable to watch past the point where they sprayed him in the face, ignoring his pleas to just discuss what the problem was.

[jmowreader]

23. Hang on...they pulled him over for tinted windows?

Name one SUV that’s been made in the last 10 years that doesn’t have tinted windows everywhere except the windshield and front doors.

Simply stated, this was a DWB stop, and I hope part of the settlement is two badges in a display case.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

24. One of these asshole cops was just fired

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

25. From the Gov. of Virginia

Link to tweet