WINDSOR, Va. (WAVY) — Windsor town council has approved LEXIPOL, an outside firm, to review and update police policies in the town.
Windsor town council approved the $25,000 budget Tuesday to pay LEXICOL in an effort to prioritize the town’s police policies after a U.S. Army lieutenant was pepper-sprayed in December 2020 — a story that reached national attention.
On Dec. 5, 2020, two officers pulled over Army 2nd Lt. Caron Nazario in Windsor after his license plate wasn’t able to be immediately seen. The stop escalated to the point where both officers drew their guns and one pepper-sprayed Nazario.
In the body camera footage of the traffic stop incident, the phrase “ride the lightning” was used by one of the officers toward Nazario in the midst of the traffic stop.
Nazario said Gutierrez, one of the two Town of Windsor Police officers who responded, was disciplined following the internal investigation, but it wasn’t until the video made national news that the police chief “lost confidence” in Gutierrez’s ability to serve. Gutierrez was later fired.
Nazario’s attorney has said the officers violated his Fourth and First Amendment rights, used excessive force, and conducted an unlawful search of his vehicle.
The Town of Windsor has continued affirming its commitment to transparency and “taking actions to rebuild the public’s trust in the Windsor Police Department.”
