Following an investigation into the "horrifying" traffic stop incident in December 2020, a Virginia police officer who pepper-sprayed and attempted to kill a Black and Latino second lieutenant in the US army was fired.

Windsor police officer Joe Gutierrez was fired after an internal investigation found that the department's "policy was not enforced" and pepper spray was used on Lieutenant Caron Nazario, according to officials in Windsor, Virginia.

Lieutenant Nazario filed a federal complaint on April 2nd, seeking $1 million in damages and a ruling that both officers had broken the law. The officers "threatened to kill him" and end his military career if he went public about the traffic stop, according to the complaint.

Lt Nazario was stopped by two officers on US Highway 460 in Windsor on December 5, 2020, while still clad in his uniform.

Officer Gutierrez and another officer, Daniel Crocker, were seen on bodycam footage pointing weapons at Lt Nazario and ordering him to get down. During the incident, Lt Nazario expressed his fear of getting out of his vehicle, to which the officer replied, "You should be."

While still in his car with his hands raised, the lieutenant was pepper-sprayed, forced to kneel down, and shot by the cop.

People were outraged by the incident, and his name was trending on Twitter as a result of the video.

Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia has ordered state police to look into the traffic stop incident, saying it has both upset and frustrated him.

Mr. Northam, a Democrat, said, “Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure Virginians are protected during encounters with police, that laws are enforced fairly and equally, and that people are kept accountable.”

Officers initially pulled Lt Nazario over because he lacked a permanent rear license plate.

According to the complaint, an officer radioed dispatch that the driver of a black SUV was driving without a sticker, was "eluding police," and that the arrest was "high-risk." After being signaled by the police, Mr. Nazario pulled over to a gas station in less than two minutes.

Bobby Scott, a member of the Virginia House of Representatives whose district includes Windsor, said he was "horrified" by the video and that it should have been a "routine" stop. He also recommended that police reforms be implemented.

“I was horrified when I saw the newly released video footage of Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the US Army, being treated by the police,” he said. “This should have been a normal traffic stop, as shown by the video.”

The video was released as the Hampton Roads community continues to mourn the death of Donovan Lynch, who was killed by officers whose body cameras were switched off.