Jury mostly backs police sued by soldier over a traffic stop

By BEN FINLEY
Associated Press

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A jury in Virginia has found mostly in favor of two police officers who were sued by a U.S. Army lieutenant after he was pepper sprayed, struck and handcuffed during a traffic stop. The jury in federal court in Richmond on Tuesday found former Windsor police officer Joe Gutierrez liable for assault. The jury awarded Caron Nazario $2,685 in compensatory damages. The jury also awarded Nazario $1,000 in punitive damages after officer Daniel Crocker illegally searched Nazario’s SUV. But the jury found in favor of Crocker and Gutierrez regarding Nazario’s claims of battery and false imprisonment. Video of the 2020 incident received millions of views after Nazario filed the lawsuit.