RICHMOND, Va. -- An attorney for Army Lieutenant Caron Nazario who is suing two officers over the way they treated him during a traffic stop asked the jury to "watch the watchmen when no one else will" during his closing arguments Friday.
The jury began deliberations just before 1 p.m. and ended for the day at 5:30 p.m. without a verdict.
They will return at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
Jonathan Arthur argued that Windsor Police Officer Daniel Crocker and former Officer Joseph Gutierrez "crossed the line" when they pulled over Lt. Caron Nazario on December 5, 2020.
Arthur said Crocker's initial stop of Nazario for a missing back license plate was lawful but said the stop "did not remain lawful."
Arthur argued Nazario complied with the officer's commands by slowing down, pulling into a well-lit gas station parking lot, turning off his car, and putting his hands out the window.
He said it was the officers who escalated the situation by immediately pointing guns at Nazario upon pulling into the gas station, by giving inconsistent commands, by not answering Nazario's questions about what was going on, and by telling Nazario he was "fixin' to ride the lightning," and he should be scared to get out of the car.
At that point, Arthur argued Nazario was so terrified, he was unable to comply with the orders to get out of the car.
"A citizen has a right to resist," Arthur said.
He also said the pair assaulted and battered Nazario when Gutierrez deployed OC spray in his face and then used knee strikes to get him on the ground to handcuff him.
Arthur argued Crocker was also guilty of those offenses because he did nothing to stop Gutierrez.
"Silence speaks louder than words," Arthur said.
Arthur added that statements made by the officers after Nazario was in handcuffs suggesting everything that happened was his fault due to his failure to comply were "victim blaming, and gaslighting."
It's like "telling a battered spouse she deserved what she got," Arthur said. "That is not appropriate."
He asked the jury to deliver a verdict that gives Nazario nearly $600,000 in compensatory damages and $900,000 in punitive damages to deliver a message to every single police officer in the United States that would deter similar conduct.
"How much will you enter so every officer in the US hears you so they won't do what they did in this traffic stop?" Arthur asked.
Corinne Silverman, an attorney with Hancock Daniel who is representing Joseph Gutierrez, asked the jury not to award Nazario a single dollar from her client.
Silverman told the jury there are "two sides to every story," and said the traffic stop escalated because of Nazario's actions, including his "eluding and failure to comply, and obstruction of justice."
She reiterated that Nazario's SUV had an expired tag affixed to a tinted rear window, that he drove 1.1 miles after Crocker activated his lights and sirens before pulling over and that he failed to get out of his car after being asked to 20 times.
Silverman argued Nazario did not put both his hands out of the window and that Nazario used his elbow to lock his door to prevent the officers from getting into the car to pull him out.
"If that's not active resistance, I don't know what is," she said.
She claimed he had to use OC spray after that and a reasonable officer may use force when there is noncompliance with commands.
Officer Crocker's attorney, Richard Matthews with the Pender Coward law firm, told the jury to pay attention to "mischaracterizations," and the "exaggeration of facts."
He said Nazario's actions raised suspicion and concern, and Crocker's decision to call in a "high risk" or "felony traffic stop" was reasonable.
Matthews added that Judge Roderick Young had already ruled that Nazario failed to obey and committed obstruction of justice, although Arthur said that "doesn't mean Nazario wasn't justified in his failure to obey."
Instead of committing assault, battery, and false imprisonment, Matthews alleged Crocker "bent over backward to help the guy" by getting him water when he asked for it, and opening his SUV to get his dog fresh air.
Judge Young already ruled Crocker illegally searched Nazario's SUV, but Matthews said the search only took 60 seconds and was very minimal.
"Yes he made one mistake," Matthews said, but added it was "absolutely minimal."
"Award the minimum you can for the illegal search," Matthews said.
