NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A federal jury in Virginia on Tuesday found mostly in favor of two police officers who were sued by a U.S. Army lieutenant after he was pepper sprayed, struck and handcuffed during a traffic stop.
Video of the 2020 incident in the small town of Windsor got millions of views after Caron Nazario filed the federal lawsuit, highlighting fears of mistreatment among Black drivers and raising questions about reasonable police conduct.
The jury in federal court in Richmond found former Windsor police officer Joe Gutierrez liable for assault and awarded Nazario $2,685 in compensatory damages, according to attorneys on both sides of the case.
The jury also awarded Nazario $1,000 in punitive damages after Windsor police officer Daniel Crocker illegally searched Nazario’s SUV, the attorneys said. A federal judge already ruled last year that Crocker was liable for the search.
The jury found in favor of Crocker and against Nazario’s claims of assault and battery and false imprisonment, the attorneys said. The jury found in favor of Gutierrez regarding the soldier’s claims of battery, false imprisonment and illegal search.
“Having now heard all of the evidence and learning the full picture of this case, we believe the jury reached the correct decision,” one of Crocker’s attorneys, Anne Lahren, said in a statement. “In the present climate, this took a lot of courage and we thank the jury for their…
