By Colleen Slevin and Morgan Lee
Associated Press
DURANGO, Colo. — A Colorado prosecutor said Wednesday that an immigration officer has been charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief following an investigation into the treatment of a protester seen being put into a chokehold.
Multiple videos show a masked federal agent placing Franci Stagi in what she described as a chokehold, and pulling her over to the other side of the street. Colorado is among several states to prohibit or severely limit the use of chokeholds and neck restraints by police officers since George Floyd’s death in 2020.
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The protests took place over the detention on Oct. 27 of three Colombian immigrants — a man and two children — while on their way to and from school in the morning. In late October, protesters gathered outside an ICE facility in Durango.
The altercation started as Stagi filmed the agent, who was moving camping gear that was left near the gated entryway to the building. She alleged at the time that the agent hit her hand hard, either taking her phone or causing her to drop it.
Stagi said she touched the agent’s shoulder to get his attention and then he grabbed her by the hair, put her neck in the crook of his arm and carried her across the street by her head. She alleged he threw her down an embankment next to the street.
A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection acknowledged a request seeking comment but didn’t immediately respond to questions about the charges. Court documents didn’t list any attorney as representing the officer, Nicholas Rice.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigations launched its own investigation at the request of Durango Police Department Chief Brice Current, who raised concerns about possible violations of state law.
Slevin reported from Denver. Lee contributed to this report from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
