THIS HAS TO STOP! (Jason Viau/CBC) Miyares administration confirmed to The Smithfield Times May 26 that Simmons had also left her employment with the Office of the Attorney General. Windsor Police Chief Rodney Riddle says former Officer Joe Gutierrez was disciplined in January after an investigation into the traffic stop but says once the infamous video became public, he lost . Nazario was reluctant to go but was Reinholds only medical service officer, the colonel testified. After being cross-examined by the defense, he testified that the December 5, 2020 actions of Crocker and Gutierrez was absolutely not reasonable. He explained to the jury what a reasonable police officer would have done. A lawsuit filed earlier this year by Nazario against Windsor officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker alleges excessive force and other constitutional violations, and claims the officers struck . Hed also named assistant attorneys general Palmer T. Heenan III and Brett P. Blobaum to the case. He testified that Lt. Nazario was called up to duty after January 5, 2021 when the Virginia National Guard was called to the capitaland that he observed substantial changes in Lt. Nazario and that he needed help and more concrete directions to successfully fulfill his medical duties. As such, the jury will be tasked only with awarding damages for the search, as well as deciding whether either officers actions constituted false imprisonment and assault and battery., Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Saunders provides Windsor Town Council with Fiscal Year 2023 revenue projections, Guardsman rejected $150,000 settlement from Windsor officers, records show, Isle of Wight School Board bans sexually explicit content in elementary, middle schools, Windsor Town Council likely to consider water main replacement bids in March. PTSD symptoms, according to the American Psychiatric Association, can include nightmares or flashbacks, and feeling detached or estranged. Nazario had been pulled over on Route 460 for allegedly lacking a license plate. Counsel for neither of the defendants attempted to defend the discrepancies between the videos and defendants official reports. Insurance Liability for Defamation in Virginia, Parental Rights Termination of parental right and adoption and Va Code 63.2-1215 factors, Tortious Interference with Doctor-Patient Relationship, Sexual Abuse in Churches and Legal Recourse Wolves in Sheeps Clothing, Wrongful Death Claim Against Alec Baldwin, et al.? According to the suit, Black drivers accounted for 42% of the WPDs traffic stops from July 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021 though Blacks only account for 21% of the towns population, and 22% of the countys. Whether force is reasonable must be judged based on the totality of the circumstances confronting the officer including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of officers or others, and whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or attempting flight. From the pool of prospective jurors summons to the court (veniremen ) the court randomly called individuals to the witness stand. Hes just different, Madu said. Silverman then asked whether Nazarios psychiatrist, Dr. James Sellman, had advised Nazario not to rewatch his recording of the Dec. 5, 2020, traffic stop, to which Madu answered, yes, and whether Madu makes a point of telling him not to rewatch the footage, to which she replied, No, I dont.. Gutierrez responded to the scene when Crocker reported a felony traffic stop to dispatchers. The Town of Windsor issued a statement Thursday afternoon denying the allegations, questioning the data used and asserting the lawsuit, and its timing, are politically motivated. In a few months, a jury will hear what happened when two Town of Windsor police officers pulled over an Army lieutenant. Question: How do you keep both of your hands out of the vehicle and undo your seatbelt? The Town of Windsor and its seven member police department, which includes minority representation, assures the entire Commonwealth of Virginia that despite the accusations in the lawsuit: all traffic stops are conducted in a constitutional bias free, non-pretextual manner, the use of force is consistently applied and that use of force incidents are properly reported, the public can file complaints and have them taken seriously. Video footage of the incident, which went viral in April 2021 and led to Gutierrezs firing, culminates with Gutierrez repeatedly pepper-spraying Nazario and using knee strikes to force the lieutenant out of the car and onto the ground. A look at mRNA vaccine issues. Hed initially planned to make the Army his career and stay in until retirement age, but has not met the Armys recovery standard, he testified, which he said means he could end up being discharged with veterans benefits or without depending on whether his condition is ruled a line of duty injury. In their place, Virginias Supreme Court has appointed retired Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr., who is himself a former police officer. Civil Action No. 2006). They were made available without a PACER account in dropbox on 4/8/2021 after the story broke. He was returning to Petersburg still in uniform. On Thursday, Gutierrezs legal team called West Jordan, Utah, Police Chief Ken Wallentine and Crockers team called former Tuscon, Arizona, police officer-turned-YouTube content creator Brandon Tatum to the stand to testify as use-of-force experts. In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated during the traffic stop in the town of Windsor. He was unable to testify that under the circumstances in Lt. Nazarios case it would have been appropriate to use such force. Settlement Terms Released for 2020 RPD Violations of 1st Amendment Rights of Protestors at Lee Circle on June 1, 2020. He explained that failing to communicate and explain to citizens needlessly increased the danger to everybody, increasing the risk for potentially deadly mistakes and miscues. Count 3 unlawful pattern and practice violating the 14th Amendment in violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act. The Windsor Police Service and the Windsor Police Services Board announced they are doubling the reward for information that leads to the arrest of the those responsible for the killings of Debilleanne Williamson and four-year-old Brandon Rucker. Officers can ignore the 4th Amendment, and ignore the 1st Amendment but in a court of law, ignoring the law will not make it go away! 1959), citing, Aetna Casualty & Surety Company v. Yeatts, 122 F.2d 350 (4th Cir. Item 2 of 4 button COVID-19 Report Contravention of COVID-19 Orders to WECHU anonymously online. The elder founder of the law firm Attorney Tom Roberts participated as well throughout, serving as second chair at the trial and cross-examining one of the defense experts. Madu recalled on the witness stand that Nazario had knocked on the door of the couples Petersburg home the night of the incident wearing only his boxer shorts and carrying a jug of milk, though he had a key and could have let himself in. Thats his father, Madu replied, also noting that she works during the day. Lt. Caron Nazario isnt the same person 32-year-old Sadie Madu met and fell in love with in 2017, and hasnt been since he was pulled over by Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker and ex-officer Joe Gutierrez the night of Dec. 5, 2020, she says. Should the insurance company pay for the depreciation, decreased or diminished value of my car due to the accident? The blindfolds depicted on statutes of Lady Justice are needed now more than ever.. His testimony gutted Crocker and Guterriez claim that Lt. Nazario did not have PTSD symptoms that interfered with his life. Adding insult to injury, it is a sad day. Since the birth of the couples son in September 2022, Madu and Nazario have stopped sleeping together, she testified. How do I get a copy of the search warrant, affidavit and return. In this image taken from Windsor, Va., Police body camera footage, Lt. Caron Nazario is helped by an EMT after he was pepper-sprayed by Windsor police during a traffic stop in Windsor, on Dec. 20 . Count 1 unlawful race based discrimination; Count 2 unlawful pattern and practice violating the Virginia Human Rights Act. The up and down was just too much for me as a breastfeeding mother, Madu said. So Lt. attorneys Jonathan Arthur read the questions while Tom Roberts sat in the witness box and read Gutierrez answers. He saw a police car stopped for a traffic light as he passed by, but shortly thereafter, he saw blue lights and heard a siren behind him. Swauger also asked Reinhold why, if Nazario had been suffering mentally from the traffic stop, he had allowed the lieutenant to deploy to Washington, D.C., in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of former President Donald Trumps supporters. In this image made from Windsor, (Va.) Police video, A police officer uses a spray agent on Caron Nazario on Dec. 20, 2020, in Windsor, Va. Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, is suing . We applaud the Commonwealths Attorney for requesting that the US Attorneys office to investigate whether or not Gutierrez violated Lt. Nazarios civil rights. Published 6:15 pm Friday, January 13, 2023. Over the past two years since the incident, Nazario has watched the cellphone video too many times to count, Madu testified,He sometimes cries while doing so, but that hasnt stopped him from replaying it over and over, she said, sometimes to the point of ignoring the couples newborn son. Bong explained that ordering a citizen out of the vehicle in a traffic stop or a terry stop was legal but not always reasonable under the circumstances. Nazario had a temporary New York plate taped to the inside of his cars rear window, but Crocker said he didnt see it and accused the lieutenant of eluding police for having driven roughly a mile down Route 460 to a BP gas station before stopping. The five-day trial in Army Lt. Caron Nazario's lawsuit against two Windsor police officers captured on camera pepper-spraying and threatening him during a traffic stop will start March 28.. He has degrees from Harvard, and obtained his law degree in Richmond. police brutality Class Action filed against Richmond Police officers. Nazario, who had testified himself that morning, said hed been unable to speak when he saw police approaching. Despite claims that driving slowly a little over a mile to the most-well-lit space on the short stretch of 460 running through Windsor, counsel told the jury that they would hear Gutierrez admit on tape that driving to a well-lit space was not the problem, that it happened a lot but that 80% of the time it was minorities who did so. Then, in February 2021, the nightmares began. Arthur also called upon Nazarios psychiatrist, Dr. James Sellman, and psychologist Shawn Utsey to testify. Jonathan Arthur, Esq. Nazario, she said, started talking in his sleep, even shouting statements like, Its the risk of driving while Black! a sentiment he hadnt expressed prior to his encounter with the two officers. Nazarios attorney, Jonathan Arthur, showed the jury the video on Jan. 9, as well as footage of the incident each officers body-worn camera had captured. To Read the Brief In Support of a New Trial for Lt. Nazario v. Gutierrez and Crocker, To Read Affidavits Regarding Sleeping Juror, Nazario Rebuttal Brief to Crocker's Opposition, Nazario Rebuttal Brief to Gutierrez' Opposition to New Trial. The Town of Windsor points out that a larger number of minority may be passing through the town - BUT THIS FAILS TO EXPLAIN OR ADDRESS THE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER INCIDENT OF SEARCHES OF MINORITY VEHICLES STOPPED!!!! Windsor has disputed the former attorney generals claims, arguing in its January response that Herring didnt account for the number of out-of-area motorists stopped on Route 460, a four-lane highway that passes through town. It is unreasonable to give conflicting commands, impossible to comply with both, and use noncompliance with one of the inconsistent commands as an excuse to claim the need to use force! Associate Andrew Bodoh assisted with work leading up to the trial. Case 2:21-cv-00169-RCY-LRL Document 240 Filed 01/17/23 Page 42 of 56 PageID# 4906, In Instruction 42, the Court explained the law Once a motor vehicle has been lawfully detained for a traffic violation, the police officers may order the driver to get out of the vehicle. A proposed class-action lawsuit accuses the British Columbia government of "sexism and genocide" over a decades-long practice of coercing Indigenous women into sterilization . Did Trump really call for the termination of the provisions of the Constitution? He had even pursued a career with NYPD and the NY State Police before deciding to serve as a military officer with the Army. VANCOUVER -. After Gutierrez forced Nazario from his car, Crocker had removed the firearm and checked its serial number, which U.S. District Court Judge Roderick Young ruled in August constituted an illegal search. Arruda said his life turned around when he became sober at the age of 21. Successful Defense of High Profile Criminal Case Dinwiddie County, January 23, 2018 Another Free Speech Victory, Virginia Civil Rights Law Firm Thomas H. Roberts & Associates, PC obtains a $25.35 Million Judgment for Sexual Assault Victim, Civil Rights Law Firm Lands A Jury Verdict for Police Misconduct. Nazario has always been one to have a gun, Madu said, but since the 2020 incident has started carrying the gun from room to room inside the couples home, and continues to do so to this day. Copy of Lawsuit Circuit Court Isle of Wight. As a result, he did not receive an estimated $80,000 to $100,000 in overseas pay. 31. According to Senate records, she worked for U.S. Sens. There is no mention of whether the force was excessive in light of the conflicting commands to keep his hands out of the vehicle (which Lt. Nazario obeyed throughout) and to exit the vehicle, (he had given multiple commands for Nazario to exit the vehicle) or the fact that the license was visible from the window when the car stopped in the well-lit gas station or of the statements that both officers placed in their official paperwork regarding actions that they allege occurred, and which the videos (theirs and Lt. Nazarios) do not support. Later his vehicle was illegally searched. She testified that after the birth of their son, she could not longer stand sleeping together at night due to the nightly disturbances from Nazario. On cross examination by Swauger, Reinhold testified that the officers may have suspected Nazarios car of transporting drugs, noting drugs tend to go through rural towns.. While they are glad Gutierrez was ultimately let go. That is why I have now filed suit to ensure accountability and to protect Virginians rights. Virginia Attorney Generals Office. Petersburg Jury Awards $300,000 for Civil Rights Violations, Victims of Sexual Assault by Chiropractor, Exposure to supervisors sexual misconduct with others does NOT create Title VII liability, Spoliation destroying evidence in the Fourth Circuit, Advancing Racial Harmony through Litigation. After 5 days of evidence, the jury determined that Gutierrez did assault Lt. Nazario but awarded only $2,685 to compensate Lt. Nazario for the damages he suffered and declined to punish Gutierrez or to send a message to other police officers that this conduct is unacceptable. No words were coming out my body started shaking; I began crying, Nazario said, recalling the only words he was finally able to blurt out were, I was almost killed.. 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