Pray tell me what someone can do to avoid this? I'm just tired of being told how "rare" it is when there are stories every day. It's just so dam sad and frustrating and it doesn't seem like the officers ever get punished for it. How do you "do what the officer says" when two are yelling different things? Who do you come out with guns pulled and aimed after you see the plate IS visible and YOU made the mistake?
Quote:WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A second lieutenant in the U.S. Army is suing two Virginia police officers over a traffic stop last December during which the officers drew their guns, pointed them at him and used a slang term to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground.
Body camera footage shows Caron Nazario, who is Black and Latino, was dressed in uniform with 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.”
“Yeah, you should be!” one of the officers responded during the stop at a gas station.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated during the traffic stop in the town of Windsor. The two sides in the case dispute what happened after a second police officer joined the first one in the stop. At the time, Nazario was coming from his duty station and going home, attorney Jonathan Arthur told The Associated Press on Friday.
“Graduated from Virginia State University. He was commissioned out of their ROTC program. He's an officer in the United States armed forces,” Arthur said. “These guys decide to do this to him.”
Asked about Nazario's condition after the incident, Arthur said, “He's definitely not doing too well.”
Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker radioed he was attempting to stop a vehicle with no rear license plate and tinted windows. He said the driver was “eluding police” and he considered it a “high-risk traffic stop,” according to a report he submitted afterward and which was included in the court filing.
Arthur said Nazario explained at the time that he wasn't trying to elude the officer, but was trying to stop in a well-lit area “for officer safety and out of respect for the officers.”
Another officer, Joe Gutierrez, was driving by when he heard Crocker’s call, saw him attempting to stop the SUV and decided to join the traffic stop. Gutierrez acknowledged that Nazario's decision to drive to a lighted area happens to him “a lot, and 80% of the time, it's a minority,” Arthur said, quoting the officer.
The lawsuit says by the time the two officers reached Nazario's SUV, the license plate was visible in the rear.
Nazario drove his SUV to a well-lit gas station where, according to the lawsuit, the two officers got out and immediately drew their guns and pointed them at Nazario after they got out of their cars. The officers then attempted to pull Nazario out of the vehicle while he continued to keep his hands in the air. Gutierrez then stepped back and pepper-sprayed Nazario multiple times as officers yelled for him to get out of the car.
“I don't even want to reach for my seatbelt, can you please? ... My hands are out, can you please — look, this is really messed up,” Nazario stammered upon being pepper-sprayed, his eyes clenched shut.
The officers shouted conflicting orders at Nazario, telling him to put his hands out the window while also telling him to open the door and get out, the lawsuit says. At one point, Gutierrez told Nazario he was “fixin’ to ride the lightning,” a reference to the electric chair which was also a line from the movie “The Green Mile,” a film about a Black man facing execution.
Nazario got out of the vehicle and again asked for a supervisor. Gutierrez responded with “knee-strikes” to his legs, knocking him to the ground, the lawsuit says. The two officers struck him multiple times, then handcuffed and interrogated him.
The traffic stop was captured on Nazario's cellphone video, and the body-worn cameras worn by Crocker and Gutierrez, according to the lawsuit.
“These cameras captured footage of behavior consistent with a disgusting nationwide trend of law enforcement officers, who, believing they can operate with complete impunity, engage in unprofessional, discourteous, racially biased, dangerous and sometimes deadly abuses of authority ...” the lawsuit says.
The AP reached out to Windsor police for comment, but an email was not returned and their voice mailbox was full. No one answered the phone at a number listed for Crocker on Friday.
Crocker and Gutierrez still work for the department, the town manager told The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk. Windsor is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Richmond.
Doesn't matter to me who you are, as human being we should be disgusted that anyone was treated this way when they are complying. But hey the officer "decided" to not press charges...after he realized how wrong he was.
Quote:When Lt. Caron Nazario said he was afraid to get out of the vehicle, one officer responded, “Yeah, you should be." [/url]EO By Emma Ockerman April 9, 2021, 12:37pm
SCREEN CAPTURE OF WINDSOR POLICE DEPARTMENT BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE FROM THE DEC. 5, 2020 INCIDENT. Caron Nazario was driving his newly purchased Chevy Tahoe home when two police officers pulled him over in Windsor, Virginia, whipped out their guns, and started barking orders.
With their weapons raised, the officers demanded that Nazario, a Black and Latino man, get out of the SUV. Nazario looked in the mirror and saw he was being held at gunpoint, then placed his cellphone on his dashboard to film the December 5 encounter. He repeatedly asked to know what was going on. At one point, he even admitted to being afraid to leave the vehicle.
“Yeah, you should be,” one of the officers responded.
Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, was coming home from work and in full uniform at the time.
“I’m serving this country, and this is how I’m treated?” Nazario told the officers, according to his cellphone video.
WATCH: A new lawsuit claims Windsor police officers drew guns, pepper-sprayed uniformed Army officer during traffic stop. More at 5 on #13NewsNowpic.twitter.com/OQotHHnb47
— Ali Weatherton 13News Now (@13AliWeatherton) April 8, 2021
By the end of the incident, the cops would threaten Nazario, pepper-spray him in the face, and knee-strike him in the legs, according to body camera footage, Nazario’s cellphone video, and legal filings. Later, when Nazario was in tears and on the ground of a gas station parking lot as officers put him in handcuffs, he repeated, “This is F***** up, this is ****** up.” News Cops Arrested a Black Man Taking Out His Garbage While Looking For a White Suspect EMMA OCKERMAN
04.07.21
The officers allegedly told Nazario if he were to complain, they’d charge him with crimes like obstruction, eluding, and assault on a law enforcement officer—potentially destroying his military career.
But now Nazario has a lawyer. And he sued the two Windsor police officers, Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker, on April 2, alleging violations of his constitutional rights under the Fourth and First Amendments.
“He’s a sworn member of the United States Army. He swears an oath to support to defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic—and the way these officers behaved, this implicates the oath that he takes,” said Jonathan Arthur, an attorney for Nazario.
Arthur said Nazario thinks he was racially profiled. His hope with the lawsuit is to hold the officers accountable and send a message to other law enforcement officers “that this type of behavior will not be tolerated,” Arthur said.
The Windsor Police Department and Gutierrez did not immediately respond to VICE News’ requests for comment. Contact information for Crocker wasn’t immediately available.
The incident ostensibly began after an officer believed Nazario was driving on U.S. Route 460 without a rear license plate, according to the lawsuit. While the SUV was new to Nazario, meaning he hadn’t gotten permanent plates yet, he still had a temporary plate taped to the inside of his rear window, the lawsuit notes. The temporary tags are visible in the body camera footage.
Nazario slowed down his vehicle within seconds of the police pursuing him and activated his turn signal. Because it was dark, Nazario also drove for less than a mile—below the posted speed limit—until he reached a well-lit BP gas station, where he pulled over. In all, it took about 1 minute, 40 seconds for Nazario to pull over after Crocker initiated the stop, according to the lawsuit. News Police Screamed at a 5-Year-Old and Told Him Handcuffs Would Be His ‘Best Friend’ EMMA OCKERMAN
03.26.21
[url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7amde/police-screamed-at-a-5-year-old-and-told-him-handcuffs-would-be-his-best-friend]
Still, the cops claimed in a report Nazario was “eluding police,” had a dark window tint, and lacked plates, so officers treated the incident as a “felony traffic stop,” or a traffic stop they believed to be risky. One of the officers admitted later that they knew why Nazario had pulled into the BP—it happened all the time, and was a maneuver often used by people of color, according to the lawsuit.
Once he was in the BP parking lot, Nazario was ordered to put his hands out of his car window and turn the vehicle off, according to body camera footage. He was also ordered to get out of the vehicle multiple times by both officers as he asked, “What’s going on?”
The officers were not “willing or able to articulate why they had initiated the traffic stop,” according to the lawsuit. Gutierrez told Nazario, who did not immediately get out of the car despite repeated orders to do so, that he was “fixin’ to ride the lightning,” according to body camera footage.
“This is a colloquial expression for an execution, originating from glib reference to execution by the electric chair,” the lawsuit alleges.
Gutierrez attempted to remove Nazario from the car with an “arm-bar,” but failed, according to the lawsuit. The officer pepper-sprayed Nazario in the face and continued to order him out of the SUV, body camera footage shows. The pepper spray caused Nazario’s dog, which was in a crate in the back of the vehicle, to start choking, according to the lawsuit.
After Nazario got out of the vehicle, he was allegedly hit with “knee-strikes” to the legs. Officers continued to strike him after he was on the ground and in tears, according to the lawsuit.
Once Nazario was in handcuffs, the officers pulled him up and began to interrogate him. Medics also responded to provide assistance to Nazario, who said his eyes were burning.
Meanwhile, Crocker searched Nazario’s SUV “without permission or authority” to locate a firearm that Nazario said he had, according to the lawsuit. Crocker “radioed the serial number back to dispatch to see if the firearm was stolen.”
While interrogating Nazario, Gutierrez said the problem was that Nazario hadn’t exited the vehicle, according to the lawsuit.
Nazario was told that he could leave without charges if he would “chill and let this go,” according to the lawsuit—or, he could be charged, have to go to court, and face the consequences in his military career.
The body camera footage adds to the many documented, aggressive police traffic stops of non-white people that have drawn attention in recent years.
“I made the decision to release him without charges,” an incident report narrative from Gutierrez, submitted in the lawsuit as an exhibit, reads. “The reason for this decision is simple; the military is the only place left where double jeopardy applies. Meaning that regardless of what happened in civilian court the military could still take punitive actions against him.”
“Being a military veteran,” Gutierrez’s report continued, “I did not want to see his career ruined over one erroneous decision.”
Hand where we can see them! Get out of the car! Don't reach! Well since you can't do everything we'll pepper spray you and beat you. Wonderful way to handle a traffic stop" Good training.
(04-10-2021, 03:32 PM)GMDino Wrote: Pray tell me what someone can do to avoid this? I'm just tired of being told how "rare" it is when there are stories every day. It's just so dam sad and frustrating and it doesn't seem like the officers ever get punished for it. How do you "do what the officer says" when two are yelling different things? Who do you come out with guns pulled and aimed after you see the plate IS visible and YOU made the mistake?
Doesn't matter to me who you are, as human being we should be disgusted that anyone was treated this way when they are complying. But hey the officer "decided" to not press charges...after he realized how wrong he was.
Hand where we can see them! Get out of the car! Don't reach! Well since you can't do everything we'll pepper spray you and beat you. Wonderful way to handle a traffic stop" Good training.
Wow, you actually watched that whole video and thought this clown was complying? This reeks of you not being able to see a gun in a person's hand pointed at police. The had to reiterate their order to put his hands out the window how many times? Then they lawfully ordered him out of the car and he refused, spouting off that he's a veteran, like that means anything in this situation. This idiot wants to argue and debate with the officers, what he did was the exact polar opposite of "complying". Also, "ride the lightning" while unprofessional, is slang for getting tazed, not being executed like this guy's shyster lawyer claims. He states he does not have to get out of the vehicle, he absolutely does, by law. This guy did literally everything wrong when stopped by law enforcement.
Seriously, how anyone can watch that full video and see a person "complying" is mind boggling. More garbage from "I don't hate law enforcement" Dino.
I'm off to take my father out for his birthday, but I wanted to leave off with this. This is not for OP, who actively dislikes law enforcement and has zero intention of being fair or objective when it comes to this subject, but for anyone else reading this thread. The officers, or rather one of them, did two things wrong. The "you should be" and the "ride the lightning" comments were uncalled for and will likely end up with a reprimand. However, they came after consistent and constant non-compliance from the subject to lawfully given orders. The initial officer was actually doing a pretty good job of trying to defuse it, but the officer who made the above comments didn't help in that regard. Still, these two comments do not justify, mitigate, or excuse the (in)actions of the subject both prior to, and after, they were uttered.
I'll close with this. If that was me in that video, refusing commands, spouting off that I'm a sworn peace officer and resisting I'd be looking at a lengthy suspension in the 20-30 day range. Possibly termination, and I've got 20 years of distinguished service under my belt. In a just world this guy would catch hell from his superiors for his conduct in this video, but under Biden, and given the current atmosphere, I doubt anything happens to him. He doesn't deserve a damned penny though, much less on million dollars. I certainly hope he obeys orders better in the Army then he does here.
I'd love to be able to post about these things without be constantly lied about. I do not hate the police. I hate when one of them treats a citizen like they did above.
But I suppose attacking me and victim shaming the guy who got pepper sprayed, beat, and then had NO CHARGES filed is where we are.
If anyone wants to simply delete this thread feel free. I'm tired of not being to able TALK about incidents like this without ME being the center of the response.
What do you expect? Someone in the Army to be able to follow simple instructions?
If you get pulled over then don’t pull over right away then don’t follow orders once you do stop. Chances are it’s going to be a bad experience all around. I learned this at a young age. Concept is not hard to follow.
(04-10-2021, 07:03 PM)GMDino Wrote: My apologies for triggering anyone.
I'd love to be able to post about these things without be constantly lied about. I do not hate the police. I hate when one of them treats a citizen like they did above.
But I suppose attacking me and victim shaming the guy who got pepper sprayed, beat, and then had NO CHARGES filed is where we are.
If anyone wants to simply delete this thread feel free. I'm tired of not being to able TALK about incidents like this without ME being the center of the response.
SSF get the win. I quit.
I'm out.
I’m sorry that you feel discouraged. It’s not that you post about police misconduct, it’s that your take on the subject is exceedingly poor. If you can watch that video and place blame anywhere but on the can’t follow instructions butter bar then you’re really not in a position to discuss this topic rationally. This guy isn’t the victim of anything but his own stupidity.
(04-10-2021, 08:29 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I’m sorry that you feel discouraged. It’s not that you post about police misconduct, it’s that your take on the subject is exceedingly poor. If you can watch that video and place blame anywhere but on the can’t follow instructions butter bar then you’re really not in a position to discuss this topic rationally. This guy isn’t the victim of anything but his own stupidity.
From what I've seen, I'd run.
I'm sitting at a gas pump and two guys approach me for no reason with guns drawn (even if they're cops)? I'm running.
(04-11-2021, 01:45 AM)Benton Wrote: This was probably pretty traumatic for the officers.
On the one hand, the dude looked to be black. According to fox, blm is trying to kill them.
On the other hand, the guy was in camo. According to recent events, he was probably some wacked out militant trying to kill them.
It's a rough time to be a leo. Black guys aren't always the enemy and guys in military gear aren't always your friends.
Smarmy isn't a good look in general. I would be happy to hear an intelligent rebuttal to any points I made, and I'll get right on that once that happens.
(04-11-2021, 01:48 AM)Benton Wrote: From what I've seen, I'd run.
I'm sitting at a gas pump and two guys approach me for no reason with guns drawn (even if they're cops)? I'm running.
Except that's not what happened, at all. I suppose actually being aware of the situation being discussed was too much to hope for. I'm honestly disappointed, this is not the type of post I'd expect from you. I suppose we now see how deep the termites have spread.
It’s a profession you really can’t let your guard down or you wind up dead.
If I put myself in their shoes, I initiate a stop and the person doesn’t stop right away so the situation has quickly escalated and now my adrenaline is going. This is an uncontrollable bodily response. Now I’m on edge and amped up. Now they decide to stop where they wanted to. Why? Windows tinted black, is there someone in the vehicle with a weapon pointed at me? Person won’t obey simple commands. Are they wasted out of their mind? Plotting on me? Getting ready to flee? Is this guy pulling one of those Nashville Christmas bombings and I interrupted? I have no idea.
I can’t say I blame any non white person for fearing a LEO. But damn it man. Follow the simple instructions and de-escalate the situation.
(04-10-2021, 03:32 PM)GMDino Wrote: Hand where we can see them! Get out of the car! Don't reach! Well since you can't do everything we'll pepper spray you and beat you. Wonderful way to handle a traffic stop" Good training.
I didn't see any beating going on in that video.
By refusing to stop when the police first attempted to pull him over, he committed a crime by eluding law enforcement. You don't get to choose where you pull over to face whatever traffic stop the police were attempting to make.
Volson is meh, but I like him, and he has far exceeded my expectations
(04-11-2021, 09:55 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I didn't see any beating going on in that video.
By refusing to stop when the police first attempted to pull him over, he committed a crime by eluding law enforcement. You don't get to choose where you pull over to face whatever traffic stop the police were attempting to make.
Based on what these LEO's stated, this isn't uncommon in that area, for someone to drive to a more well light area before finally stopping. They may still have their guard up for multiple reasons, but what really escalated the situation was the soldier who can't follow instructions. Again, it's just indicative of how programmed some people are to see law enforcement in a negative light that they could watch that video and blame the police for the situation.
As to the "beating" of course GM is going to believe that with zero evidence.
(04-11-2021, 09:55 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I didn't see any beating going on in that video.
By refusing to stop when the police first attempted to pull him over, he committed a crime by eluding law enforcement. You don't get to choose where you pull over to face whatever traffic stop the police were attempting to make.
You better if it's dark and you're a woman. or a minority Women are trained to do just that.....find a well lit area to pull over.
Minorites are guilty until proven innocent when pulled over by the police. If you don't see it, you're blind.
(04-11-2021, 02:20 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Except that's not what happened, at all.
That is exactly what the video showed.
Instead of just walking up to the vehicle to request the registration the officer pulled his weapon for a "felony traffic stop" and ordered the guy out of the car.
If the guy really did put on his turn signal and drive at or below the speed limit for less than a mile to the gas station then the cop was nuts to act like that.
The guy was holding his hands out the window as he was being ordered to do. If I was him I would have bee scared to death to take my hands back inside the vehicle in order to open the door. That is when he could have been shot for "reaching for a weapon".
People are much more willing to cooperate with police when they don't act crazy.
None of this had to happen if the police just handled this the proper way. Just walk up to the driver and request his registration.
Last year you were 5x more likely to die from getting struck on the side of the road during a traffic stop than actually being killed by the person you are stopping. Pulling people over on the side of the road is a practice law enforcement agencies would be better off trying to end in favor of driving until people can actually pull off the roadway completely into a well lit drive of some sort.
(04-11-2021, 02:20 AM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Smarmy isn't a good look in general. I would be happy to hear an intelligent rebuttal to any points I made, and I'll get right on that once that happens.
Except that's not what happened, at all. I suppose actually being aware of the situation being discussed was too much to hope for. I'm honestly disappointed, this is not the type of post I'd expect from you. I suppose we now see how deep the termites have spread.
Ok, you want a real response instead of the sarcasm this kind of absurdity needs? The kind of sarcasm demanded by this?
The cops should've been fired.
They initiatedd a stop because they couldn't see his license plate. He slowed down, put on his signal indicating he was pulling over and in about a minute and a half, had his vehicle pulled into a well lit parking lot. How did the cops respond?
With guns out and threats of violence. When he indicated he was trying to comply with conflicting commands given by the two officers, more threats of violence by them.
If they did it based on training, their training is flawed and they shouldn't be handling interactions with the general public, and should be fired. If they did it because they have emotional issues that prevent them from handling interactions with the public, they should be fired.
People should have respect for interactions with officers, but that's a two way street. If every time a cop pulled me over he came at me with a loaded firearm drawn, I'd stop pulling over. And no, that's not sarcasm.
(04-11-2021, 11:02 PM)Benton Wrote: Ok, you want a real response instead of the sarcasm this kind of absurdity needs? The kind of sarcasm demanded by this?
The cops should've been fired.
Interesting, I'm sure you'll substantiate this point.
Quote:They initiatedd a stop because they couldn't see his license plate. He slowed down, put on his signal indicating he was pulling over and in about a minute and a half, had his vehicle pulled into a well lit parking lot. How did the cops respond?
A minute and a half is a long time to drive after being lit up. Try running in place for a minute and a half and then tell me if it's a long time or not.
Quote:With guns out and threats of violence. When he indicated he was trying to comply with conflicting commands given by the two officers, more threats of violence by them.
This is a bullshit characterization of what actually occurred. The initial officer ordered him to put his hands out of the window how many times before he finally complied? It was at least around ten times. Would it take you more than two to finally do what you're being instructed to do? The "threats" of violence, which consisted of one statement (ride the lightning), only occurred after this dude actively refused to do what he was instructed to do. He even tried to play the "I'm a veteran" card, like that excuses him from actually following a lawful order.
Quote:If they did it based on training, their training is flawed and they shouldn't be handling interactions with the general public, and should be fired. If they did it because they have emotional issues that prevent them from handling interactions with the public, they should be fired.
Yeah, you honestly sound like the people on Twitter. Let me clue you in, because you're completely wrong on this one. If you are stopped by the police follow their instructions. He refused to exit the vehicle after being ordered to do so, stating he did not have to. This is 100% wrong. By law you must exit your vehicle if ordered to do so. You want to get twisted out of shape because of one statement by one of those officers, where is your condemnation for repeatedly refusing to follow a lawful order?
Quote:People should have respect for interactions with officers, but that's a two way street. If every time a cop pulled me over he came at me with a loaded firearm drawn, I'd stop pulling over. And no, that's not sarcasm.
How about this, next time you get pulled over refuse to do so for a minute and a half. The when you finally do stop refuse to follow the officer's instructions. I can guarantee you your experience will mirror this one. Honestly, the fact that a normally rational person like yourself can have such a head in the ground position on this only shows how shitty things are for LEO's right now. Enjoy the skyrocketing crime rates while people condemn law enforcement for doing their job.
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