The Virginia Attorney General has sued the town of Windsor for its treatment of Black drivers by their police.  

The lawsuit comes after an investigation into the treatment of Caron Nazario. According to The New York Times, Nazario, a U.S. Army Medical Corps lieutenant, was traveling from a drill weekend on Dec. 5, 2020, when police pulled him over.  

PREVIOUS: Black Army Lieutenant Pepper-Sprayed by Police During Traffic Stop 

Nazario, who was 27 years old at the time, continued driving until he reached a gas station, where he pulled over for officers and put his cellphone on the dashboard. The two officers yelled for him to get out of the car and after Nazario said he was afraid, officer Joe Gutierrez responded, “You should be.” Gutierrez then pepper-sprayed Nazario in the face while his hands remained raised. He also said the officers threatened to destroy his military career by charging him with multiple crimes.  

Gutierrez was fired from the police force in April 2021 and Nazario filed a $1 million lawsuit accusing the officers of illegally searching his car, using excessive force and violating his rights under the First Amendment.  

RELATED: Philadelphia Police to Stop Pulling Over Drivers for Low-Level Offenses  

Nazario’s attorney Jonathan Arthur joined BNC in April 2021 to discuss his client’s wellbeing. Arthur said Nazario was “hanging in there,” and the outpouring of support from others has been helpful. “The support from the people and the community has helped him a whole lot,” he said.  

Attorney General Mark Herring filed the lawsuit on Dec. 30, 2021, after a months-long investigation into the incident with Nazario. Herring released a statement saying, “While our investigation was spurred by the egregious treatment against Lt. Nazario that we all saw in bodycam footage, we discovered that this incident was indicative of much larger problems within the department. Our months-long investigation uncovered huge disparities in enforcement against African American drivers, and a troubling lack of policies and procedures to prevent discriminatory or unconstitutional policing. We even discovered evidence that officers were actually being trained to go ‘fishing’ and engage in pretextual stops. That is why I have now filed suit to ensure accountability and protect Birgininas’ rights.”  

In the suit, Herring alleged the Town of Windsor “violated the Virginia Human Rights Act and the Virginia Public Integrity and Law Enforcement misconduct Act in its provision of law enforcement services through the Windsor Police Department.”  

RELATED: The Safety Pouch Is On A Mission To Make Traffic Stops Just That 

The investigation from Herring’s office found that Black drivers accounted for about 42% of the department’s traffic stops from July 1, 2020, to Sep. 30, 2021. Black drivers were stopped between 200% to 500% more often than figures projected based on the number of Black residents in the town. Investigators also learned the department searched more vehicles driven by Black drivers than by white drivers.  

The lawsuit seeks to bar the Windsor Police Department from participating in discriminatory law enforcement activities and develop policy changes to make sure traffic stops are bias-free and that use of force is applied consistently and reported properly.