Cop Gets Fired After Pepper-Spraying Black Army Officer In Virginia

• A police officer from Windsor, Virginia has been fired after pepper-spraying a Black army officer.
• US Army 2nd Lieutenant Caron Nazario filed a case against officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker who harassed him at a traffic stop.
• Gutierrez ended up losing his job because of the incident.

The Windsor, Virginia police officer who made headlines after pepper-spraying a US Amry lieutenant has been fired from his job.

It was in December last year when officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker had an encounter with US Army 2nd Lt Caron Nazario, who is a Black Latino, at a traffic stop. In a bodycam footage, we see that Nazario was wearing his uniform when he was approached by the cops who instructed him to “get out of the car” with their guns drawn. He held his hands high outside his car window and told them he’s “honestly afraid to get out.”

“Yeah,” Gutierrez replied, “you should be!”

According to Nazario, he ended up getting pepper-sprayed and slammed on the ground. He later sued the officers and they ended up facing disciplinary action. Now Gutierrez has officially been sacked as a result of the incident.

In a statement, officials said:

“The Town of Windsor prides itself in its small-town charm and the community-wide respect of its Police Department. 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.”

Jonathan Arthur, Nazario’s lawyer, said that Gutierrez’ termination was “appropriate.”

He added:

“We must consider steps to decertify officers that engage in this behavior, so that they cannot seek employment with other law enforcement agencies.”

Last Sunday, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam wrote on Twitter:

“The incident in Windsor is disturbing and angered me — and I am directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation. Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure that Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable.”

Watch this video report for more details: