Colorado’s decision to charge an immigration officer with assault after a protester was choked and dragged through the street could test the boundaries of immunity for federal agents as states review the Trump administration’s use of force in its crackdown on immigrants.
A Colorado prosecutor said Wednesday that a Colorado police officer has been charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief following an investigation into the treatment of a protester in October.
Multiple videos show a masked federal agent grabbing a 57-year-old woman who said she was choked during protests in Durango.
Colorado is one of several states that ban or severely restrict police use of chokeholds and neck restraints. But immunity provisions in the U.S. Constitution and federal law limit the scope for local authorities to prosecute federal agents.
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Investigations underway in Minnesota and Chicago
The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics have triggered a series of investigations by state and local authorities.
Earlier this month, a federal immigration agent was charged with two counts of second-degree assault during a Minnesota county prosecutor’s investigation into the conduct of several officers during an immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. is accused of pointing a gun at the passengers in his car as they drove side by side on a Minneapolis-area highway. Investigators said Morgan said he feared for his safety after the car swerved in front of him.
Minnesota officials are also suing the government, seeking evidence from an investigation into three shootings during the crackdown, including the one that killed Renee Goode and Alex Pretty.
Outside Chicago, an off-duty ICE agent was charged with a misdemeanor for beating a 68-year-old protester at a gas station in December. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said the agent acted in self-defense.
In California, 43-year-old Keith Porter was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve, sparking protests and calls for an independent investigation.
Federal Officers and the Supremacy Clause
Federal law enforcement officers enjoy broad legal protections in the line of duty, and the Justice Department takes a tough stance against state efforts to arrest or prosecute federal agents.
Late last year, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Branch cited the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and federal law to say that arresting federal officers doing their jobs would be “unlawful and futile.”
Legal experts say these protections are important but not absolute, and the supremacy clause does not provide blanket immunity.
In a statement about the Colorado charges, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said states do not have the authority to investigate such cases.
“Federal officials are subject to investigation only by other federal agencies in the performance of their duties,” the statement said.
The conduct of ICE officers amid a rapid hiring boom has come under extra scrutiny, and there is evidence that applicants with questionable histories were not adequately vetted.
Flashpoints in Colorado Mountain Towns
The row in Colorado began when three Colombian asylum seekers, a man and two children, were detained on the morning of October 27 on their way to school, sparking demonstrations. Protesters gather outside an ICE facility in Durango in late October. Durango is a college town and outdoor recreation destination in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado.
Multiple videos show a masked federal agent putting France Stage in a chokehold, which she described as a chokehold. Since Eric Garner was killed in a police chokehold in New York in 2014, chokeholds have been at the center of public discussions and state legislative initiatives about what constitutes an unreasonable use of force.
Staji, a retired hypnotherapist, said she reached out and grabbed the agent’s shoulders to get his attention, and he grabbed her by her hair, put her neck in his arms, carried her head across the street and threw her onto an embankment.
Court documents allege Customs and Border Protection officer Nicholas Rice committed third-degree assault for causing bodily harm to Staji, but they do not describe how she was injured or mention that she was choked. Court documents do not list any attorney representing the officer.
A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is also launching its own investigation, did not immediately respond to questions about the allegations.
Staji said she was disappointed Rice was charged with a lesser crime but hoped prosecutors would send a message that immigration officials cannot treat people indiscriminately and use excessive force.
