The Colorado Bureau of Investigation said Thursday it will investigate an incident involving a federal agent accused of throwing a protester to the ground Tuesday in Durango.
“The CBI will investigate whether there were state criminal law violations during the incident,” according to a news release from the agency. “CBI will provide the investigation to the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office upon its completion.”
Any decision to file criminal charges hinges on the discretion of 6th Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray, CBI said.
The agency said it will not provide further comment until its investigation is concluded.
Durango Police Chief Brice Current asked CBI to investigate a situation in which a federal agent grabbed Franci Stagi’s phone from her hand and threw her to the ground outside the ICE field office Tuesday morning.
Stagi was among dozens of people protesting the arrest of a father and two children who were on their way to school Monday morning in Durango. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the family members are not lawful residents of the U.S.
The incident was captured on video and went viral on social media.
Rob Lowe with CBI told The Durango Herald the agency’s investigation concerns only the use of force against Stagi. It is not related to separate reports of abuse of a child and his father under ICE’s custody in the field office.
City Council is held a special meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday at City Hall where Durango Police Chief Brice Current planned to deliver a presentation about the protest and conflict at the ICE field office in Bodo Industrial Park.
The La Plata County Board of County Commissioners said in a joint statement Wednesday that the board is “deeply concerned” about the events that occurred outside the ICE field office and it supports an independent investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Mayor Gilda Yazzie said federal agents’ use of force against peaceful demonstrators was “just terrible.”
She said she is “disturbed,” yet proud of the way Durango Police Department conducted itself with limited options at its disposal.
Durango police attempted a welfare check after receiving a report of abuse of a child who had been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs agents Monday morning. DPD was unsuccessful, having been turned away at the door to the ICE field office in Durango by federal agents.
Police also issued parking tickets when protesters parked their cars along both sides of a narrow road near the field office after Durango Fire Protection District asked for assistance in ensuring fire trucks and ambulances had a clear path in the event of an emergency.
“The police department has handled themselves (to) the letter of the law and done the best they could with trying to do welfare checks on the children and trying to keep safety at the top of their agenda,” she said.
Durango police’s actionable options are restricted by federal authority, Yazzie said, limiting their ability to respond to certain situations at the protest
Yazzie said hoped to hear ideas from the public about how the city should respond to the violence that occurred this week.
Councilor Shirley Gonzales, who went to the protest Tuesday morning and remained well after the protest ended in the afternoon, joined a lawyer and immigrant advocates in attempting a welfare check on the family, only to be turned away by federal agents.
Gonzales told the Herald she wants the immediate release of the children and their father and to be allowed to resume the legal asylum process they have already undertaken.
“Being the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, it wasn’t always – at different times in our country – so violent,” she said. “Let’s start, at a minimum, with allowing people that are in the process to complete the path that they’re on.”
Elected officials from the local, state and federal levels reacted this week to the federal arrests of asylum-seekers, the resulting protests and the way in which federal agents responded.
Local elected officials went the furthest in calling for action.
County commissioners said La Plata County had no operational involvement in the incident and urged state and federal elected officials to review their employees’ actions and move to correct them.
“The images, videos and accounts from this week have affected many people in our community,” Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton said. “We share the community’s desire for transparency, accountability and respectful and legal exercise of residents’ First Amendment rights. Federal actions must honor the human, civil and legal rights of people and the rule of law.”
Commissioner Elizabeth Philbrick said the violent treatment of peaceful protesters is not good for democracy and not how the community should be treated.
“Just because something is legal, doesn’t mean it is moral,” she said. “Our foremost concern is the well-being of all who call La Plata County home.”
Commissioner Matt Salka said moments like those experienced Monday and Tuesday test the community’s shared values.
“We remain committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for every resident,” he said.
Colorado State Patrol assisted in crowd control at the request of local law enforcement, according to the agency. But troopers did not participate in any immigration enforcement actions, according to a CSP news release.
“The Patrol’s role was to aid in de-escalation and protection of all parties present, maintain the peace, and address any identified unlawful behavior,” the release said. “Members of the Colorado State Patrol did not use any weapons or chemical munitions.”
Still, protesters questioned the State Patrol’s presence and level of involvement.
The Herald requested interviews with U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd and state Rep. Katie Stewart.
The offices of Bennet and Hickenlooper referred the Herald to the senators’ comments on social media about the violence directed toward protesters and ICE’s arrest of Solano and his children.
Hickenlooper called the family’s arrest “another overreach from an agency pulling people off the streets.”
“Instead of going after dangerous criminals, they detained a father and handcuffed his 12 and 15 year old kids on their way to school. No due process, no probable cause. It’s indefensible. ICE’s inhumane treatment needs to stop,” he said.
Bennet said the Trump administration is picking up in the president’s second term where it left off in his first with “cruel immigration policies that separate families and traumatize minors.”
“I have always said that separating families is inhumane. These immigration efforts undermine our most sacred values as Americans, do nothing to keep the country safe, and result in trauma for the children and families targeted. The Administration must grow a conscience and reverse course now,” he said.
Sophie Ulin, press secretary for Bennet’s office, said in an email that Bennet introduced legislation in August that would prohibit law enforcement officers from obscuring their faces and require them to display their agency, name and a unique identifier while conducting immigration enforcement functions.
“Situations like this should never happen, and the Senator’s legislation would increase transparency, accountability, and safety,” she said.
Hickenlooper joined Bennet and Democratic U.S. Sens. Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and Angus King to introduce the Immigration Enforcement Identification Safety Act.
Hurd did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment about the ICE-related activity.
He did not appear to make any references to the conflict unfolding in Durango this week. Instead, posts were about a tour of his district, the ongoing government shutdown and a number of other issues.
Stewart posted a video to her Katie for Colorado Facebook page on Monday – the day the two children and their father were arrested – in which she said, “This is not going unnoticed.”
She said she visited the ICE field office where she checked on the children.
She asked ICE agents if the children were being fed and cared for and had proper access to an attorney.
“While the conversation was fine, I don’t think I was given the truth. I do believe the kids are being fed. I don’t believe that they’ve had access to their attorney,” she said. “In fact, I’m almost sure their attorney was turned away.”
At that point, she said, it was in the hands of the community to stand up for the children.
“I’ll continue to work at the state level to see what answers I can get, but in the meantime, just know that we do care. We care and we’re fighting,” she said.
ICE did not respond to questions earlier this week about its policies guaranteeing children access to an attorney children while in its custody.
cburney@durangoherald.com
