Army Lieutenant sues Virginia police after traffic stop

U.S. Army lieutenant Caron Nazario is suing two Virginia police officers. During a December traffic stop, officers pointed their guns, pepper-sprayed, and used a slang term at Nazario to suggest he would face execution as he purposefully held both hands up in attempt to defuse the situation.

Police in Windsor, V.A said in a statement that it joined calls from election officials, including Gov. Ralph Northam, in requesting an investigation about the incident involving second lieutenant Caron Nazario, a Black and Latino man who was in uniform when officers ordered him to exit his Chevrolet Tahoe as he held his hands up through the driver’s side window outside a local gas station.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Norfolk and obtained by The Washington Post, alleges the officers violated Nazario’s constitutional rights during the stop and that the officers further threatened to destroy the lieutenant’s military career “with a series of baseless criminal charges” if he reported them for misconduct.

Video of the December 5 incident was captured by both officers’ body cameras and on Nazario’s cell phone, the suit said.

“What’s going on?” Nazario asked the officers, who shouted at him to get out of the SUV as they approached, guns drawn.

“What’s going on is you’re fixin’ to ride the lightning, son,” one replied, using a slang term for the electric chair in a line from the film, “The Green Mile.”

“I’m honestly afraid to get out,” Nazario told the officers.

“Yeah, you should be!” one retorted.

Jonathan Arthur, Nazario’s attorney, told the Associated Press the Virginia State University graduate was on his way home from his duty station when the incident occurred.