Virginia AG launches civil rights probe into pepper-spraying of Army officer

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) announced Monday he's launched a civil rights investigation into the Windsor Police Department and its officers involved in the traffic stop of U.S. Army Lt. Caron Nazario.

Details: Herring told CNN footage that emerged last Friday showing the two officers pepper-spraying and drawing guns on Nazario, who is Black and Latino, in December was "appalling," "dangerous" and "unacceptable."

---

Lt. Nazario’s treatment was unacceptable, and the bodycam footage shows the incredible composure he had during the stop.

My Office of Civil Rights will be looking into whether there’s been a pattern of misconduct with these officers or broadly with the department as a whole. pic.twitter.com/LQLZYQA9Pl

— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) April 13, 2021

• Herring said his Office of Civil Rights would be examining whether there had been "a pattern of misconduct with these officers or broadly with the department as a whole."
• He added in a tweet Monday night, "We certainly have more work to do to put a stop to misconduct and make sure this doesn't happen again."

The big picture: Nazario has filed a lawsuit against the two officers, Joe Gutierrez and Daniel Crocker. Gutierrez was fired from the Windsor Police Department on Sunday over the incident.

• Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Sunday he had directed the state police to conduct an independent investigation into the matter.
• The Town of Windsor announced Monday that a Virginia State Police investigation into the matter had begun and that investigators would be looking at "numerous requested documents."