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On November 7, the Weld County District Attorney‘s Office revealed that formal charges had been filed against Officer Jordan Steinke of the Fort Lupton Police Department and Platteville Police Department Sergeant Pablo Vazquez.
At least nine other Colorado law enforcement officers have been accused of crimes since March. But while those cops were fitted with cuffs primarily for charges connected to off-duty actions, most of them pertaining to domestic-violence-related incidents, Steinke and Vazquez are accused of having acted recklessly on the job: by allowing a police cruiser occupied by a road-rage suspect, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, to be struck by a train.
The original Platteville Police release about the September 16 incident notes that a PPD officer later revealed to be Steinke “assisted the Fort Lupton Police Department [Vazquez] with an investigation involving a reported road-rage incident. A Platteville Police Officer located the suspect vehicle traveling through Platteville and made a high-risk vehicle stop with the assistance of Fort Lupton officers.”
Just after 7:30 p.m., the arrestee, Rios-Gonzalez was placed in the back seat of a Platteville cruiser, according to the release. This vehicle was subsequently “struck by a train” near U.S. Highway 85 and County Road 36, north of Platteville.
The two law enforcement agencies subsequently shared more than twenty hours of body-worn and dashboard-camera footage, capturing not only the crash, but the reaction of one officer: “Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.”
Here’s a brief video compilation assembled by the Law and Crime Network website. It shows that the cruiser was parked on the tracks directly behind Rios-Gonzalez’s vehicle, where it was slammed by a train – with Rios-Gonzalez inside.
Rios-Gonzalez was hospitalized for a week; she reportedly suffered a broken arm, broken ribs, broken teeth and a fractured sternum. Meanwhile, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation launched its own investigation into the incident. In its own release, the Fort Lupton Police Department noted that its command staff requested that the CBI step in, as is “standard in any incident where an in-custody person suffers serious injury.”
Now, the hammer has been lowered on not only the suspect, but the officers. Steinke has been charged with one count apiece of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter and second-degree assault, both felonies, plus reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. Vazquez has been hit with five counts of reckless endangerment in addition to allegations of obstructing a highway or other passageway, careless driving and parking where prohibited.
Prosecutors have also charged Rios-Gonzalez with felony menacing in regard to the episode that led to her arrest in the first place. According to the Weld County DA’s Office, she “pointed a gun at a victim,” who subsequently spoke to 9News on condition of anonymity. He told a 911 dispatcher, “I am headed towards Greeley on Highway 85. This lady was completely riding my ass and then she pulled a gun on me.” However, the attorney representing Rios-Gonzalez claims that the man was “the aggressor…. He was speeding ahead of her and then slamming on his brakes, repeatedly harassing her. She was afraid for her life.”
Neither the police departments in Platteville and Fort Lupton nor the Weld County DA’s office are commenting on the latest developments. Click to read the charging documents for Jordan Steinke, Pablo Vazquez and Yareni Rios-Gonzalez.
