The fallout continues after a Windsor, Virginia, police officer pulled over a Black and Mexican Army Lieutenant last December. Earlier this week, The Windsor Police Chief fired the officer at the center of the incident after the backlash drew national attention.

The incident happened on December 5th, when police officer Joe Gutierrez pulled over Caron Nazario during a traffic stop. The traffic stop was caught on the officer's body camera. Nazario also began filming on his cell phone once he pulled over. Later reports indicate that the traffic stop happened because the officers noticed that Nazario was driving a brand new Chevy Tahoe SUV that didn't have a back license plate. At the time of the stop, Nazario was coming back home from his duty station. Nazario later indicated that he took over a minute and a half to pull over after officers signaled for him to pull over because he was looking for a well-lit area to pull over in.

In the footage, the interaction between the two officers and Nazario quickly escalates once Nazario pulls into the well-lit gas station. The two officers who conducted the stop immediately approach Nazario's vehicle with guns drawn as they order Nazario to exit the vehicle.

Nazario, who can be seen wearing his army uniform, repeatedly asks the officers why he was pulled over, all while visibly displaying his hands out of the window of his vehicle. In the footage, officer Gutierrez can be heard telling Navarro, “You’re fixin’ to ride the lightning, son,” a term that is often used to refer to execution by electrocution or an indication that Guiterrez was getting ready to use his taser on Nazario. The situation continues to escalate as Nazario states that he is afraid to get out of the car to which the officer replies, "Yeah, you should be." Gutierrez continues to shout orders at Nazario and then quickly pulls out his pepper spray, spraying Nazario several times without warning.

After footage of the incident went viral, the Town of Windsor Police Department subsequently fired the officer and released a statement that explained that the Virginia State Police would be investigating the incident. The statement read in part, “The Chief of Police is continuing to implement training in accordance with Department of Criminal Justice standards for the Windsor Police Department, some of which will take place during the Virginia State Police investigation.”

Earlier this month, Nazario filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The lawsuit is aimed at the two police officers who conducted the stop. The lawsuit explains that the officers “decided to escalate the traffic stop, report it as a high-risk felony stop, pull their weapons, illegally detain Lt. Nazario, threaten to murder him, illegally spray him with OC, and illegally searched his vehicle.”

The lawsuit also alleges that the police officers tried to walk back their unnecessary aggression at the end of the stop and that they “threatened to destroy Lt. Nazario’s military career with a series of baseless criminal charges if Lt. Nazario decided to seek redress regarding their conduct.” Nazario is seeking $1 Million in damages.

After the incident gained national traction, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was first to call for an investigation by State Police. Northam said in a statement of the incident, "Our Commonwealth has done important work on police reform, but we must keep working to ensure that Virginians are safe during interactions with police, the enforcement of laws is fair and equitable, and people are held accountable.”

As the footage of the traffic stop gained traction, many came out with their strong opposition to the unnecessary force and aggression used by the officer. Virginia rep. Bobby Scott tweeted, "I was horrified when I viewed the recently released video footage of the police treatment of Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. This should have been a routine traffic stop and the video speaks for itself."

The incident is the latest in what has been a string of mistreatment of minorities at the hands of police officers. In response to the incident, Virginia's NAACP is breathing new life into calls for ending qualified immunity for police officers.