RICHMOND, Va. — A town in Virginia has agreed to independent reviews of misconduct allegations against its police force to settle a lawsuit filed after a Black and Latino Army lieutenant was pepper sprayed during a traffic stop.
The town of Windsor also agreed to more officer training as part of a settlement agreement signed Thursday. In exchange, the state Attorney General’s Office will drop its argument that Windsor police broke a new law by depriving Caron Nazario of his rights.
Windsor agreed to keep working toward accreditation by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission. Police also will hold officer training exercises twice a year and submit to the Isle of Wight Commonwealth’s Attorney reviewing any allegations of excessive force or misconduct against its officers.
The Attorney General began investigating the town after a December 2020 traffic stop involving two Windsor Police Department officers and Nazario, an Army lieutenant who is Black and Latino.
The traffic stop, captured on video, showed officers drawing their guns, pointing them at Nazario, who was in uniform, and using a slang term to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground. He was not arrested.
The Attorney General’s Office said its investigation found that while about 22% of Windsor’s population is Black, they accounted for about 42% of the department’s traffic stops…
