The governor of the US state of Virginia, Ralph Northam, has requested the state police to launch an investigation into a "disturbing" traffic stop incident in the town of Windsor that involved an army medic of African American and Hispanic origins
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2021) The governor of the US state of Virginia, Ralph Northam, has requested the state police to launch an investigation into a "disturbing" traffic stop incident in the town of Windsor that involved an army medic of African American and Hispanic origins.
Lieutenant Caron Nazario filed earlier in April a lawsuit against two Virginia police officers, Daniel Crocker and Joe Gutierrez, over what is considered to be a violent traffic stop that took place last December. According to the lawsuit, when Nazario refused to get out of the car, the two officers pointed their guns at and pepper-sprayed him. The army medic was then knocked to the ground and handcuffed. The officers even threatened to murder him. Nazario believes the incident violated his constitutional rights and was in line with the trend of police brutality cases when officers believe they can abuse powers and go unpunished.
"The incident in Windsor is disturbing and angered me � and I am directing the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent investigation. Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure that Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable," Northam said in a statement posted on Twitter late on Sunday.
Later on Sunday, the Windsor government announced that one of the police officers, Gutierrez, was fired. An internal probe found that Windsor Police Department policy was not followed, which resulted in disciplinary action. The authorities added that the police department implemented requirements for additional training starting January.
The announcement came as the United States senate is set to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act into law. The bill, drafted by Democrats last year in the wake of the killing of the 46-year-old African-American man while in police custody, was passed in the House of Representatives last month.
Floyd died last May when a white police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes after he was already handcuffed and lying face down. The incident has since sparked a wave of protests against police brutality throughout the United States and across the rest of the world.
