An immigration officer has been charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief after an investigation into how he treated a protester who said the officer choked her.
Multiple bystander videos show a masked agent grabbing Francie Staggie and dragging him across the street during an October protest against the detention of three Colombian asylum seekers in Durango, Colorado. She said he grabbed her by the hair and put her in a chokehold. The state is among several that have banned or severely restricted police officers from using chokeholds and chokeholds Neck restraints Since the death of George Floyd in 2020.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation into the actions of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer against Stagi at the request of Durango Police Department Chief Bryce Current, who raised concerns about potential violations of state law — an unusual if not unprecedented request.
The Department of Homeland Security, which includes Customs and Border Protection, called the trial “illegal” and a “political stunt.” She said that states do not have the authority to investigate such cases.
“Federal officers acting in the line of duty can only be investigated by other federal agencies,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The administration said it is still investigating the circumstances of the accident.
Court documents did not list any attorney representing Officer Nicholas Rice.
Staggie said she was standing near the officer and filming him outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Durango, a college town known for outdoor recreation, when he struck her hand so hard, causing her to lose her cellphone. Staggie, a retired hypnotherapist, said she then reached over the officer’s shoulder to get his attention. After she said he strangled her, she said he threw her on a bridge next to the street. She said she still experiences pain in her arm when doing normal daily activities, such as putting on her jacket.
Court documents allege that Rice committed third-degree assault by causing bodily injury to Staggie, but the documents do not describe how she was injured or indicate that she was strangled. Rice is also charged with criminal acts for allegedly damaging Stagi’s cellphone.
Staggie said Wednesday she was disappointed that Rice would be charged with less serious crimes. The assault charge, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum penalty of less than a year in prison. But she hopes the prosecution sends a message that immigration officers cannot handle people randomly and use excessive force.
“It opened my eyes to how quickly I can be under someone else’s control, and it’s scary,” said Staggie, whose legal name is Anne Francesca Staggie.
Federal law enforcement officials enjoy broad legal protections when acting in the course of their official duties, and the Justice Department in recent months has taken a hard line against state efforts to arrest or prosecute federal agents. Late last year, US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said it would be “illegal and futile” to arrest federal officers in the line of duty, citing the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and federal law. Legal experts say this protection is important but not absolute and that the supremacy clause does not provide blanket immunity.
Chokeholds have been at the center of public discourse and state legislative initiatives about what constitutes an unreasonable use of force since Eric Garner died in New York in 2014 after being choked by a white police officer.
Garner’s dying words, ” I can’t breathe “It became a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter movement.
While some states have banned chokeholds and other methods, sweeping changes have been met with resistance.
A federal reform package that would have banned chokeholds nationwide passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2021, but failed to reach the desk of then-President Joe Biden. The bill was named in honor of Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee on his neck.
Within a month of Floyd’s death, Colorado lawmakers approved a ban on chokeholds as part of broader police reform legislation. The law goes beyond limited chokehold restrictions put in place four years ago.
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Slevin reported from Denver, and Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.