No charges for officer who pepper-sprayed Army lieutenant

There is a city in Virginia called Norfolk. A special prosecutor has determined that a former police officer in Virginia should not be charged but should be investigated for possible civil rights violations.

Two police officers and a uniformed military officer were involved in a confrontation that drew outrage and national attention to the small town of Windsor.

The man who was pulled over never faced charges. The video of the December 2020 traffic stop surfaced in April 2021. Many black Americans were reminded that a military uniform doesn't protect against police brutality after seeing the images.

The town was sued in December by the office of the Virginia Attorney General.

The officer was fired from the department. The special prosecutor was looking into him.

The special prosecutor said that the use of force to remove Nazario did not violate state law as he had given multiple commands for Nazario to leave the vehicle.

A reasonable person would wonder if underlying bias was at the root of how and why Nazario was treated in such a way.

Bell's findings were reported by The Virginian-Pilot.

According to his lawsuit, the incident began when Nazario drove home from work. A vehicle with no rear license plate and tinted windows was being stopped by an officer.

According to a report included in the lawsuit, Crocker thought the driver was a high-risk traffic stop. Jonathan Arthur, one of Nazario's attorneys, said that Nazario was trying to stop in a well-lit area for officer safety.

According to the lawsuit, the other officer joined the traffic stop when he drove by. The license plate was visible in the back of Nazario's SUV.

Two officers pointed their guns at Nazario when he stopped at a gas station. Nazario kept his hands in the air while the officers tried to pull him out of the car. As the officers yelled for Nazario to get out, he was pepper- sprayed.

At one point, Nazario was told he was "fixin' to ride the lightning," a reference to the electric chair that was in the movie "The Green Mile," according to the lawsuit.

Nazario requested a supervisor after getting out. The lawsuit says that he knocked him to the ground with knee strikes. Two officers handcuffed and questioned him after hitting him.

The traffic stop was recorded on Nazario's cellphone.

Tom Roberts, an attorney for Nazario, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that a judge or jury should have decided whether or not to indict.

There is enough evidence to show that he intended to do something. He committed assault and battery because he exceeded his authority.

The statute of limitations was one year before the special prosecutor's findings were made public.

Roberts' firm said that Commonwealth's Attorneys fail to apply the same zeal at prosecuting law enforcement as they do with other offenders.

John Becker Mumford Jr., an attorney listed in Nazario's lawsuit, didn't reply to an email seeking comment.

The local U.S. Attorney's Office was asked to look into the case for possible civil rights violations. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia had no comment.

The town of Windsor asked a court to dismiss the state attorney general's lawsuit because it only referred to one person, Nazario.

The man who defeated Herring in the election took over as Virginia's AG. Victoria LaCivita is a spokeswoman for Miyares' office.