Lawyers for Petersburg soldier assaulted during 2020 traffic stop ask for new trial
RICHMOND — As expected, the attorneys for a Petersburg Army officer who sued two police officers in Isle of Wight County over a 2020 traffic stop gone bad have asked for a new trial after the jury in the previous one awarded a small fraction of the damages he was seeking.
Attorneys for Lt. Caron Nazatio filed the papers in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, where the original suit was filed before transferring to Richmond. In the papers, Nazario's lawyers cite several problems with the verdict, including that the jury did not fully follow the instructions the judge gave them, it was based on false evidence and that it conveys "a miscarriage of justice."
Last week, a jury in Richmond awarded a total of $3,685 in damages stemming from the Dec. 5, 2020 traffic stop in Windsor, a town about 50 miles southeast of Petersburg. Nazario was seeking $1.5 million in the suit against former Windsor police officer Joseph Gutierrez and current Officer Daniel Crocker.
Nazario was heading home to Petersburg from an assignment in Hampton Roads when Crocker attempted to stop him on U.S. Route 460 in Windsor. Nazario claimed he drove about a mile with Crocker behind him to a convenience store where it was well-lighted and safer for everyone to stop.
Video from the officers' body cameras showed Gutierrez, who came to the store on assistance, drew his gun on Nazario, who is of Black and Hispanic descent, and ordered him out of the vehicle. As Nazario was asking why he was being stopped, Gutierrez repeatedly pepper-sprayed him and threatened to hit him with a stun gun if he did not cooperate, Nazario was eventually let go and not ticketed, but he was warned by the officers about sharing what happened.
More:Lawyers for Petersburg Army officer will ask for new trial after jury awarded far less than sought
Tom Roberts, Nazario's lead attorney, states in the request for the new trial that the jurors did not follow the judge's instructions that if they felt Gutierrez assaulted Nazario during the stop, they also should have found that Gutierrez battered and false improi: it is not possible under the jury instructions for the jury to have found thatDefendant Gutierrez assaulted Lt. Nazario without also finding that he battered and falselyimprisoned him.
"This failure to follow the instructions colors not only the verdict as to defendant Gutierrez on issues of the other claims but also on damages, and as to defendant Crocker as well," the request stated. "Therefore, this Court should grant a new trial on all issues other than the liability for Gutierrez’ assault."
His lawyers also claimed that a state medical expert lied on the witness stand when she said Nazario did not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder or any other form of mental trauma from the incident. They said Dr. Keyhill Sheorn misspoke when she said that part of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD was that the trauma had to be “unspeakable and incomprehensible," and that general anxiety and panic disorders stem from incidents in early childhood.
Finally, the request noted that Nazario was returned from a required military duty in Hampton Roads that excludes him from arrest except "for a breach of the peace or in the case of a felony," and that issue was submitted to the jury before deliberations. It also claimed that one of the jurors fell asleep during the trial, and that violates Nazario's right to due process.
"The nation has seen enough outcry on the streets from citizens who have found little hope that the system actually works," Roberts wrote in the request. "To prevent a miscarriage of justice this verdict must be set aside, and a new trial granted."
No date has been set on the hearing for a new trial.
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on Twitter at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Lawyers for assaulted Petersburg soldier seek new trial
