On November 12, 2021 Plaintiff designated expert witnesses for trial. 1st Round of Interrogatories and Request for Production issued to defendants! NBC12 Reports on Lt. Nazarios Motion for a New Trial. Earlier this month, Nazario's attorney filed a $1 million lawsuit against the officers in Norfolk federal court. Nazario had told jurors on Monday that hed been diagnosed with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The opening statement told the jurors that the evidence would show that the actions of both Crocker and Gutierrez was unreasonable created justified fear in Lt. Nazario. He served as a police offer for 12 years in Florida with over 200 felony arrests and more than 1000 misdemeanor arrests and3000 hours of law enforcement training and was involved in state wide training of officers. Gutierrez responded to the scene when Crocker reported a felony traffic stop to dispatchers. Windsor Police Chief Rodney Dan Riddle terminated Gutierrez in April 2021 following the release of the footage, but allowed Crocker to remain on the force. Medical Evidence in Virginia General District Court. On November 23, 2021 the parties have a court-ordered settlement conference. putting hands out of the window upon command was a sign of compliance. He complied by rolling his window down. He had immediately drawn his gun and pointed it at a citizen where the stop was initiated because there was no license plate showing. It is not clear why the release came out on July 29, 2022. Madu, a high school counselor and doctoral student at Nazarios alma mater, Virginia State University, testified in Richmond the afternoon of Jan. 10, the second day of a weeklong trial to resolve Nazarios claims of false imprisonment and assault and battery by the officers. Plaintiff Lt. Nazario testified as the 1st witness of the trial. Both before and following the incident that occurred over a year ago involving Lt. Caron Nazario, which purportedly prompted the Herring investigation, Windsor practiced non-discriminatory policing, but it still took additional steps in the spring, following media coverage and statements by citizen groups at multiple public hearings, to increase training and accountability. During the morning session of the trials second day, Nazario continued testimony hed begun on Jan. 9 by telling jurors hed been diagnosed with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. The matter was set for a final pretrial conference and 5 day jury trial. Lt. Nazarios team called as a rebuttal witness Nazarios battalion commander, Lt. Col. Charles Reinhold. 27. The blindfolds depicted on statutes of Lady Justice are needed now more than ever.. Gutierrez is represented by Jessica Swauger and Coreen SIlverman of the Glen Allen firm Hancock, Daniel & Johnson. The court provided initial instructions to the jury, explaining their role in the legal system. Contractor Took My Deposit Contractor Fraud In Virgnia, Jury Verdict Lt. Nazario v. Windsor Police Officers. 3000 hours of law enforcement training and was involved in state wide training of officers. . He was in uniform at the . This degradation is most pernicious to rights that are rarely litigated outside the context of [42 U.S.C.] Kristi Peterson, Detective Ashly Flynn and officers . Plaintiff played to the jury excepts of a deposition where Crocker was previously asked questions under oath. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Norfolk and obtained by The Washington Post, alleges the officers violated Nazario's constitutional rights during the stop and that. Gutierrez was caught assaulting a US Army officer on bodycam footage, despite the officer complying with all his demands. The two sides in the. In a federal civil lawsuit filed last week, Nazario said he was driving in a newly purchased Chevrolet Tahoe when he encountered police on U.S. Highway 460 in Windsor. He complied by placing his hands outside the window. The Virginia Attorney General's Office, which is conducting a "pattern and practice" investigation of the Windsor Police Department to look for any pattern of discriminatory or abusive policing over the past 10 years, also has not responded to a request for comments on the status of that investigation. 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. 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. 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. (Court Reporter Jill Trail, OCR.) Windsor, including its police department, remains vigilant in protecting the rights of all residents of the Town, Isle of Wight County, Commonwealth of Virginia and nation, regardless of race or gender, who pass through its limits. Hed also named assistant attorneys general Palmer T. Heenan III and Brett P. Blobaum to the case. 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. Prince Andrew should be slung out of his grace-and-favour mansion unless he agrees to pays more than the 250-a-week peppercorn rent he is reportedly being charged, royal experts told MailOnline . None of those efforts are mentioned in the Herring lawsuit, even though his office and deputies were fully aware of them for several months. Defendant Crocker asks the court to prevent Plaintiff Nazario from gathering evidence and conducting discovery with a Motion to Stay during the pendency of the investigation by the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Attorney General and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). On August 9, 2022, the U.S. District Court granted summary judgment finding that Windsor police officer Crocker violated the 4th Amendment and Virginia state law by unlawfully searching Lt. Caron Nazarios vehicle without a warrant or consent. Hes also urinated in the bed two to three times over the past two years, and sometimes starts grabbing his gun. The defendants made it clear that they would seek an interlocutory appeal to the 4th Circuit when the U.S. District Court denies their summary judgment motion, the defendants Hail Mary attempt to make the officers immune from suit under the doctrine of qualified immunity. GoFund.Me official GoFund.Me page started to assist Lt. Nazario with court costs and expenses of litigation. The Virginians Guide to FOIA Andrew T. Bodoh, Esq. He also pointed out that punitive damages was not just to punish the defendants but to deter the defendants and others, and that the punitive award should be heard by every officer in the United States. However, assault and battery are not mutually exclusive. The jury began deliberations around 1:00 p.m. and continued until 4:30 p.m. when the court gave them the option of calling it a day or working until 5:30 p.m. Herring had named Liza S. Simmons, then-acting chief of Virginias Office of Civil Rights, as the states counsel of record. an officers response to a citizens expression of fear to get out of the car should never be Yeah, you should be. "Williamson was found beaten to death in the . A human rights organization says it has found dozens of additional overseas Chinese "police service centres" around the world, including at least two more in Canada. It can occur as a result of living through combat, rape, a natural disaster, historical trauma, domestic violence or bullying. In their place, Virginias Supreme Court has appointed retired Judge H. Thomas Padrick Jr., who is himself a former police officer. She called Nazarios explanation of being unfamiliar with Windsor as the reason he passed several well-lit businesses before stopping at the BP station not credible, contending that at the time of the traffic stop hed been driving through Windsor for months to commute from his Petersburg home to a National Guard base. The court limited his testimony so that he was unable to delve very far into the issues of injuries from racial violence. 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. He expected the officer to approach and was surprised when he saw in his mirror guns pointed at him. If, at any time, the detention becomes unlawful, the Citizen may refuse and use reasonable force to resist.. The Attorney Generals suit is based upon violations of state law, the Virginia Human Rights Act and the Virginia Community Policing Act/Virginia Public Integrity and Law Enforcement Misconduct Act. Friday morning, Nazarios battalion commander, Lt. Col. Charles Reinhold, took the stand and testified Nazario had gone from being a very outgoing officer to someone who, following the incident, was disheartened to be in his uniform. Jurors will resume deliberation on the $1 million lawsuit filed by Army Lt. Caron Nazario, who is suing two Windsor police officers for a controversial December 2020 traffic stop, on Tuesday.. (Jason Viau/CBC) Special Prosecutor Anton Bell appears to narrowly focus on the traffic stop itself. Lt. Nazarios closing asked the jury to reject Dr. Sheons testimony because she testified that Lt. Nazario did not suffer PTSD based upon criteria she attempted to slip in which was not in the DSM5. He explained that the unreasonable escalation of force made that force unreasonable. Aug. 7, 2020), Although, rejecting the defendants motion on the grounds that the plaintiff did properly allege the absence of probable cause, the court made it clear that on this standard of review, it would not be necessary, stating, Likewise, it would be reasonable for this Court to find that police normally do not escalate and arrest individuals that wait until finding a well-lit area to pull over for minor traffic offenses.. The Virginia prosecutor who will decide whether to pursue criminal charges against two police officers involved in a traffic stop where Black Army 2nd Lt. Caron . The next morning, she heard him watching a video on repeat, and recognized Nazarios voice in the recording. 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. Nazarios attorney, Jonathan Arthur, called his own use-of-force expert: former police officer-turned-attorney Mark Bong. Updated on: April 12, 2021 / 6:59 PM / CBS News Police officers in Virginia held an Army officer at gunpoint, handcuffed him and doused him with pepper spray all during an illegal traffic stop.. Pursuant to both Blankenship, and Suarez, the Lieutenant as appropriately alleged and supported with facts, threat intimating imminent punishment. The officers decided to "pull their weapons, illegally detain Lt. Nazario, threaten to murder him, illegally spray him with [pepper spray], and illegally searched his vehicle," the complaint says . Nazario filed a lawsuit on April 2, suing both Crocker and Gutierrez alleging common law assaults, battery and imprisonment. When Lt. Nazario saw the police officers guns drawn and pointed at him, he set his camera to record in case he was killed. The civil rights law firm of Thomas H. Roberts & Associates, PC represented Lt. Nazario. ECF No. There are currently 12 open civil lawsuits against the Windsor Police Service totalling more than $46 million and those involve allegations such as collusion, malicious prosecution, assault. 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.. But this will not change until the Supreme Court decides to do so. The trial court may weigh the evidence and consider the credibility of the witnesses. Probably Not He Will Be Shielded By Workers Compensations Exclusive Remedy, Malicious Prosecution and False Arrest in Virginia, INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT FAILURE TO PROVIDE INFORMED CONSENT COVID-19 JAB/VACCINE, Immunity under Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act), Science What We Knew Pre-COVID-19 That We Now Ignore, Unlawful termination for refusing to disclose COVID-19 vaccine status in Virginia. In his direct examination he explained that drawing weapons and pointing them at a citizen in a traffic stop like that of Lt. Nazario was unreasonable, extreme and inconsistent with training and policy. Nazario filed a lawsuit. Windsor Police Department "This is f-ked up," Nazario can be heard saying in the video. She claimed to receive about $75,000-$80,000/year (although the jury could easily calculate that at $6,000 x 20 that would be $120,000) She also had to reluctantly concede that the criteria she used to base her opinion that Lt. Nazario did not have PTSD, General Anxiety Disorder or Panic Disorder were not in the gold standard Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5 (DSM5)!!! Do I have a right to refuse to be vaccinated? Answer: Yes, probably. Police in the small town of Windsor, Virginia, found themselves in the national spotlight after being hit with a lawsuit from an Army officer, who is Black and Latino, after a traffic stop. She then saw him head straight to the bathroom and heard what sounded like his turning on the water and dousing himself repeatedly with the milk. Published 6:15 pm Friday, January 13, 2023. The video was the cellphone footage hed recorded from his car of the interaction. Similarly Crockers counsel promised the jury that the evidence would show that Lt. Nazario was not injured and that it was Lt. Nazarios fault. He explained that seeing a persons hands was important and that reaching into the vehicle to unbuckle a seatbelt might cause increased risk and awareness for officers. On cross examination, Silverman went after Nazarios credibility, noting hed been recorded telling the officers he was preparing in December 2020 to deploy to either Kuwait or Afghanistan. 2-5-2020 Law Enforcement Officer Cannot Lawfully Retaliate For First Amendment Speech By Attempting to Induce Another Officer To Issue a Traffic Citation, Injunction by Gun Owners of America likely to Fail, Civil Rights In Virginia Upheld by Virginias Highest Court 2020, FREE VIRGINIA CLE COURSE 2019 NEED TO KNOW: MAKING AND ENFORCING VIRGINIA FOIA REQUESTS, How do I file suit by myself in Virginia? It should not exist. The Fourth Circuit couldnt be clearer, The general proposition that a government official may not retaliate against a citizen for the exercise of a constitutional right is clearly established law, per Trulock. Jonathan Arthur, Esq. Press Enter read more Members of Police on Guard are also involved in similar court actions. 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