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Durango police discount allegations after dashcam review

Social media posts claimed woman was injured during traffic stop
An allegation made on social media against the Durango Police Department was discounted after police reviewed a dashboard camera video of the traffic stop.

A claim on social media that a Durango police officer assaulted a woman earlier this month was discounted after review of the routine traffic stop’s dashcam video, police said.

On Aug. 5, a Farmington man posted on the Facebook group page “The Last PC-Free Zone in Durango” that a Durango police officer used abusive force on a female friend, which resulted in injuries to the woman and the officer’s firing.

The post sparked a heated, and at times vicious, debate over the use of police force in light of recent events around the country, eliciting nearly 70 comments, mostly from Four Corners residents.

The woman, 54-year old Sanlen Sooter, of Durango, declined comment for this story, saying only that the incident had been “embellished.”

However, on Sooter’s personal Facebook account, a post dated Aug. 6 described the incident, which was later accompanied by a picture of her supposed injuries.

“…got stopped for expired tags, had no idea never got paper work, got out of my car, apparently that’s a BIG no no, because of it next thing I know my face is being slammed into my hood, handcuffs are going on and I’m going to jail, I said to the cop, ‘My God, no wonder you people are getting killed,’ long story short, cop gets fired, can’t work as a cop again and I have a fat lip and swollen eyes from crying.”

The Durango Herald filed an open records request for the report on the incident, which occurred around 1 p.m. Aug. 5.

A review of the dashcam video shows Sooter heading north on Main Avenue in a 2004 Ford Mustang. After being flagged by Officer Cody Hawman, Sooter speeds up for a few blocks, and makes a left turn into a parking lot on north Main Avenue. She parks and immediately opens the front driver side door of the car but does not get out.

Hawman approaches the vehicle, and the two converse for some time and exchange paper work. The officer eventually closes her door, and returns to his vehicle.

After a few minutes, Sooter, talking on a cellphone, gets out of her car and walks toward the trunk. She inspects the rear license plate, then heads back to the front driver seat. Hawman exits his vehicle, asks Sooter to remain in her vehicle, and she complies.

Hawman goes back to his vehicle, and then returns to hand Sooter a ticket for displaying expired license plate tags and leaves the scene. In his official report, Hawman wrote that Sooter “had a hard time following my instructions to stay in vehicle,” but ultimately, “was cooperative.”

Lt. Ray Shupe, spokesman for the Police Department, said Wednesday when DPD became aware of the commotion on social media, the department reviewed the reports and dashcam.

“I think the video speaks for itself,” Shupe said. “It’s unfortunate that people in today’s day and age rely more on social media than the true events that occurred, but that’s why video is so important. You just never know what the motivation is for someone to make up false allegations. And this obviously was a false allegation.”

The person who initially posted to the Facebook page apologized to the group Tuesday after being informed of the The Herald’s findings.

Sooter faces a $95.50 fine on the expired tags ticket, and must appear in court at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 4.

jromeo@durangoherald.com



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