Richmond, Va. (NewsradioWRVA.com) - A lawsuit against the town of Windsor that alleges its police department operated in a way that led to unlawful racial discrimination and violated individuals' constitutional rights can move forward.
The Office of the Attorney General initially brought the lawsuit against the small southeastern Virginia town of Windsor in December, after an investigation prompted by a 2020 traffic stop involving two Windsor police officers and Caron Nazario, an army lieutenant.
Video of the incident showed the officers drawing their guns, pointing them at Nazario, who is Black and Latino, and using a slang term to suggest he was facing execution before pepper-spraying him and knocking him to the ground. The video led to widespread outrage when it surfaced months later, after Nazario sued the two officers.
A judge heard arguments in the state's lawsuit before denying an attempt from the town to have the case dismissed.
The lawsuit was initially filed in the waning days of Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring's term. Jason Miyares - a Republican who took office in January - has continued to pursue it.
