Who is Caron Nazario? Black Army Lieutenant pepper-sprayed and beaten at gunpoint alleges 'race played a role'
The horrific memory of the killing of George Floyd is yet to be healed and America witnessed yet another similar situation though the result was not as shattering. A body camera footage from December last year has come out in the open showing police officers in Windsor, Virginia, pointing guns at a man of color and suggesting he was facing execution. The man was also pepper-sprayed and knocked to the ground.
What left the nation shocked is the fact that the man being harassed and threatened is a member of the US Army Medical Corps and was in his uniform. He was en route home from work in his brand-new car when he was stopped by the cops. Second Lieutenant Caron Nazario, a Black and Latino, told the police officers that he is a servant of the country and yet he was being treated in such a way. But the law-keepers kneed him in the legs, handcuffed and beat him and threatened to bring charges against him if he raised any complaint about their conduct. When Nazaro told the officers that he was afraid to get out of his car, he was told: “Yeah, you should be!”
Army LT Caron Nazario was pepper sprayed, beaten, and handcuffed while in uniform... and then let go because the cops had no reason to do a god damn thing in the first place.
— Naveed 🇺🇸 (@ArmyofNaveed) April 10, 2021
This is yet another example of why we demand that #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/zJrMW5JhiB
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Nazario was a little afraid about the threats and proceeded to sue two police officers -- Daniel Crocker and Joe Gutierrez -- accusing them of racially mistreating him. The officers reportedly pulled his car over on charges of driving without a license although he had temporary plates taped to the window. They also said they used force because he would not get out of the car. The police also alleged that Nazario was trying to elude the police.
A U.S. Army officer filed a federal civil lawsuit against police officers who pepper-sprayed and assaulted him.
— AJ+ (@ajplus) April 9, 2021
Lt. Caron Nazario, of Latinx and African American descent, alleges that his constitutional rights were violated and race played a role. pic.twitter.com/YbqLAfa2w4
Nazario says his constitutional rights were violated
Nazario filed his lawsuit this month and in it, he said his constitutional rights were violated in the incident in the town of Windsor, located about 70 miles southeast of Richmond. Attorney General Jonathan Arthur told the Associated Press that Nazario was returning home from duty at the time. He also told the outlet that Nazario was “not doing too well” after the incident. Nazario also said "race played a role".
“These cameras captured footage of behavior consistent with a disgusting nationwide trend of law enforcement officers, who, believing they can operate with complete impunity, engage in unprofessional, discourteous, racially biased, dangerous and sometimes deadly abuses of authority,” the lawsuit says.
According to another report, the cops asked Nazario if he had any weapons inside his car. When Nazario said he did, Crocker went to retrieve Nazario's gun which Arthur said was illegal. He said once the officers understood that, their attitude towards Nazario changed and they then started threatening to ruin his career if he spoke against it, Arthur added.
Nazario has graduated from Virginia State University and was commissioned out of their Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, Arthur told AP.