Caron Nazario, 05.12.2020. Gassed and pushed to the ground at gun point – Windsor (VA)

The Black and Latino lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps was driving to Petersburg, Va, and was wearing his Army uniform at the time, when he saw police lights flashing behind him. He drove to the gas station about a mile away to avoid pulling over on a dark road after he noticed a police car flashing its lights at him, so that he could be somewhere public and well lit while he interacted with them. He pulled over and placed his cellphone on his dashboard, as shown on the video.

Officer Daniel Crocker initiated the traffic stop because he believed that Caron’s SUV lacked a rear license plate, though a temporary tag is visible in officers’ body camera footage, according to the complaint. A police narrative filed as an exhibit in the lawsuit filed by Caron alleges that since the vehicle lacked plates, had dark tinted windows, and took a long time to stop after it traveled a short distance to a well-lit BP gas station before pulling over, the encounter was treated as a high-risk traffic stop.

Immediately, Windsor police officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker can be heard yelling orders at him, while Caron remains calm and unthreatening:

Off. Guttierez: Keep your hands outside the window!
Caron Nazario: My hands are right here. What’s going on?
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now!
Off. Crocker: Get out of the car!
Off. Guttierez: Now!
Caron Nazario: What’s going on?
Off. Crocker: Get out the car!
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now! Get out of the car now!
Caron Nazario: I’m serving this country, and this is how I’m treated?
Off. Guttierez: You know what? Guess what. I’m a veteran, too. I learned how to obey!
Caron Nazario: That’s —
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car!
Caron Nazario: What’s going on?
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now!
Caron Nazario: What’s going on?
Off. Guttierez: What’s going on? You’re fixin’ to ride the lightning, son.
Caron Nazario: I’m sorry. What?
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now!
Caron Nazario: What’s going on?
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now! Get out of the car!
Off. Crocker: Sir, just get out the car. Work with us, and we’ll talk to you. Get out the car.
Off. Guttierez: You received an order. Obey it!
Caron Nazario: I’m — I’m honestly afraid to get out. Can I ask you what’s going —
Off. Guttierez: Yeah, you should be! Get out!
Caron Nazario: What’s going on?
Off. Guttierez: Get out!
Caron Nazario: What did I do?
Off. Crocker: Get out the car.
Off. Guttierez: Get out now!
Caron Nazario: I have not committed any crimes.
Off. Guttierez: You’re being stopped for a traffic violation. You’re not cooperating. At this point right now you’re under arrest for —
Caron Nazario: For a traffic —
Off. Guttierez: You’re being detained, OK? You’re being detained for obstruction of justice.
Caron Nazario: For a traffic violation, I do not have to be out the vehicle.
Off. Guttierez: Really?
Caron Nazario: You haven’t even told me why I’m being stopped.
Off. Guttierez: Really?
Caron Nazario: Get your hands —
Off. Guttierez: Get out! Get out of the car now! Get out of the car!
Caron Nazario: Get your hands off of me, please.
Off. Guttierez: Get out.
Caron Nazario: Get your hands off me.
Off. Guttierez: You know what?
Caron Nazario: Get your hands off me.
Off. Guttierez: Not a problem.
Caron Nazario: Get your hands off me.
Off. Guttierez: Back up, Daniel.
Caron Nazario: I didn’t do anything. Don’t do that.
Off. Crocker: Sir!
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now!
Caron Nazario: Don’t do that.
Off. Crocker: Hey! Stop.
Caron Nazario: Don’t do that.
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now!
Off. Crocker: Sir, look.
Caron Nazario: Don’t do — I’m trying to talk to you.
Off. Guttierez: Get out!
Off. Crocker: OK.
Caron Nazario: I’m trying to talk to you.
Off. Crocker: I’m going to talk to you.
Off. Guttierez: Get out!
Off. Crocker: Just get out of the car.
Caron Nazario: Relax. Can you please relax?
Off. Guttierez: Get out!
Caron Nazario: Can you please relax?
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car right now! Now!
Caron Nazario: This is not how you treat a vet. I’m actively serving this country, and this is how you’re going to treat me?
Off. Guttierez: Back up, Daniel.
Caron Nazario: I didn’t do anything.
Off. Guttierez: I got him.
Caron Nazario: Whoa! Hold on! What’s going — hold on. Watch it.
Off. Crocker: [inaudible] deployed.
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car! Get out of the car now!
Caron Nazario: That’s [bleep] up. That’s [bleep] up.
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now!
Off. Crocker: Sir, just get out of the car!
Caron Nazario: I’m trying to breathe.
Off. Guttierez: Get out of the car now!
Caron Nazario: That’s [bleep] up. That’s really [bleep] up.
Off. Guttierez: Get — open — get out of the car and get on the ground now, or you’re going to get it again!
Caron Nazario: I don’t even want to reach for my seat belt.

Caron was then pepper-sprayed at point-blank range by officer Guttierez, then forced to the ground and handcuffed. Caron’s hands remained up as he coughed and pleaded with the officers to undo his seatbelt and make sure his dog, Smoke, was not choking in the back. Liquid from the spray dripped down his hands and face. Once Caron was in handcuffs, the officers pulled him up and began to interrogate him. Medics also responded to provide assistance to him, who said his eyes were burning.

The video was released nearly four months after the actual incident and became viral with millions of views.

Later, Caron was threatened with charges that could have destroyed his military career if he tried to seek redress, according to the lawsuit. The officers allegedly told him he could leave without charges if he would just “chill and let this go.”

“He was terrified that if he was going to move his hands below where Officer Gutierrez could have seen them to undo that seatbelt, they would have murdered him,” said Jonathan Arthur, attorney for Caron Nazario. Arthur said that Caron had good reason to fear for his life: guns were drawn when police approached his car, and officers gave him conflicting demands, he said. In body camera footage, Gutierrez is heard telling him he was “fixin’ to ride the lightning, son,” which the lawsuit describes as a “colloquial expression for an execution,” particularly in reference to the electric chair.

He’s seeking $1 million in compensatory damages, claiming the two officers violated his rights guaranteed under the First and Fourth Amendments. The suit, filed in US District Court and first reported by the Virginian-Pilot, claims the officers used excessive force during the stop in December. Caron also accused the officers of threatening to destroy his military career by charging him with multiple crimes if he complained about their conduct.