Virginia Cop Who Pepper Sprayed Black Latino Army Officer Terminated

A Virginia police officer involved in pepper spraying and threatening a Black Latino Army lieutenant during a traffic stop last year was terminated, the state police confirmed late Sunday.

The Virginia State police officials said they were initiating a "thorough and objective criminal investigation" after Gov. Ralph Northam directed them to conduct an independent probe.

The incident happened in December, when Lieutenant Caron Nazario, who was dressed in his uniform, was pulled over by two officers – Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker, both working with the Windsor Police Department – after they noticed that his vehicle did not have a rear license plate. Nazario, who was reportedly threatened and pepper sprayed by the officers during the incident, filed a lawsuit against them on April 2.

Nazario claimed that the officers violated his constitutional rights and their conduct was "racially motivated," ABC-affiliated television station WJLA reported.

In a bodycam video released recently, the officers can be heard yelling conflicting orders at Nazario. While one of the officers asked him to get out of the vehicle, the other one ordered him to put his hands out of the window. Gutierrez pepper sprays Nazario multiple times and the lieutenant's dog can be heard choking on the chemicals from the spray. When Nazario exited the vehicle, he was struck in the knees. He fell to the ground before he was handcuffed and interrogated by the police officers.

"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 said, reported the Associated Press.

Windsor Police Department confirmed that Gutierrez was terminated from his employment after an internal investigation.

"At the conclusion of this investigation, it was determined that Windsor Police Department policy was not followed. This resulted in disciplinary action, and department-wide requirements for additional training were implemented beginning in January and continue up to the present. Since that time, Officer Gutierrez was also terminated from his employment," the department said in a statement.

Nazario has sought $1 million plus punitive damages from the officers in his lawsuit.