Officer Joe Gutierrez was terminated from his employment after
an investigation determined he did not follow policies of the
local police department, the town of Windsor, Virginia said in a
statement Sunday.
The statement did not detail any breaches or punishments for the
other officer involved in the incident, Daniel Crocker.
The firing comes after Army officer Caron Nazario filed a
lawsuit against the two police officers in federal court over
what court papers say was a violent traffic stop on Dec. 5,
2020, where officers pointed their guns, knocked him to the
ground, pepper sprayed him and "threatened to murder him."
Nazario, who is Latino and Black, alleged Gutierrez and Crocker
violated his constitutional rights, with his lawsuit including
assault, illegal search and illegal detention.
Earlier on Sunday, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said he
was directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an
independent investigation into the case.
Windsor town joined the governor in calling for an investigation
of the incident by the Virginia police and a full review of the
actions of the two police officers.
(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln
Feast.)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|