ICE Officer Charged With Assault After Video Shows Protester Held in Neck Restraint
A federal immigration officer has been charged in Colorado in connection with an October confrontation with a protester outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Durango, where video shows the officer using a neck restraint.
The charges, announced Wednesday, identify the officer as Nicholas Rice and include third-degree assault and criminal mischief. The protest took place on Oct. 27 and was tied to the detention of three Colombian asylum-seekers, including two children.
Video recordings show a masked federal agent placing protester Franci Stagi in a neck restraint and moving her across a street. Stagi said she was filming as the agent cleared items near the facility’s entrance when he struck her hand. She said he then grabbed her by the hair, held her by the neck, and forced her across the street before throwing her down an embankment.
Colorado law places strict limits on the use of chokeholds and other neck restraints by law enforcement. After nationwide protests in 2020, state lawmakers approved legislation that generally bans these tactics unless an officer is justified in using deadly force, meaning they are not permitted during routine encounters or to control nonviolent situations.
Under Colorado law, the use of force by officers must be reasonable based on the circumstances at the time. A chokehold is considered a severe level of force because it restricts breathing or blood flow. To support the charges, prosecutors must show the officer’s actions went beyond what the law allows.
The charges against Rice include two separate allegations. Third-degree assault in Colorado involves causing bodily injury, while criminal mischief typically relates to damage to another person’s property. According to Stagi’s account, the incident included contact with her phone during the encounter.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation investigated at the request of the Durango Police Department after its chief raised concerns about possible violations of state law. Court records do not list an attorney for Rice.
Federal officers can face state charges for conduct that violates local law while performing their duties, unless a specific federal protection applies. Courts generally look at whether the officer’s actions were authorized and necessary as part of their official role.
The use of chokeholds has been a focus of national debate for more than a decade. The death of Eric Garner in New York in 2014 and the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 intensified scrutiny of neck restraints and led to legislative changes in several states, including stricter limits in Colorado.
