The Virginia cop who was caught on camera blasting a uniformed Black Army medic with pepper-spray has been fired. The town of Windsor confirmed in a statement late Sunday that the police officer, Joe Gutierrez, was terminated after his Dec. 5 run-in with Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Video showed two officers pulling their guns on Nazario, who is Black and Latino, immediately after pulling him over at a gas station. The officers then went on to pepper-spray him, handcuff him, and threaten to bring charges against him if he complained about their conduct. In the statement, town officials wrote: “The Town of Windsor prides itself in its small-town charm and the community-wide respect of its Police Department. Due to this, we are saddened for events like this to cast our community in a negative light.” Both officers were sued on April 2 in U.S. District Court by Nazario, who has accused them of using excessive force and violating his constitutional rights.
