April 9, 2021- 11:09 p.m
WINDSOR, VA — Two Windsor police officers are facing a civil lawsuit that alleges they acted aggressively towards a minority, uniformed Army officer during a traffic stop. The lawsuit was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia in Norfolk.
Documents from the lawsuit claim officers Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker (the defendants) pulled over a newly-bought SUV for not having a rear license plate on December 5, 2020.
Arthur is U.S. Army Second Lieutenant Caron Nazario’s lawyer. He told 13News Now the lawsuit was filed because Nazario’s constitutional rights were violated.
“Everyone has heard, I believe, in the doctrine of qualified immunity that protects law enforcement if they don’t violate clearly established laws,” Arthur said.
“In this case, we believe that both the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit, and the Virginia Supreme Court have all said that this type of behavior is completely inappropriate.” He said the plaintiff had calmly deferred to the officers’ instructions starting from the moment the police lights started flashing. “My client didn’t do anything wrong,” Arthur said.
