An immigration officer in Durango, Colorado, has been charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief after prosecutors said he used excessive force against a protester outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, according to the Durango district attorney. The case centers on allegations from Franci Stagi that the officer, Nicholas Rice, grabbed her and placed her in a chokehold during a demonstration in October against the detention of three Colombian asylum-seekers.
Prosecutors and investigators described Stagi as filming the interaction outside the facility during the protest. Stagi said Rice hit her hand hard enough to make her drop her cellphone, and she later reached for his shoulder to get his attention. She then alleged that Rice put her in a chokehold and threw her down an embankment next to the street.
The state’s investigation began after concerns raised by Durango Police Department Chief Brice Current, the reporting said. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation launched an inquiry into the Customs and Border Protection officer’s actions at the request of the police chief, an unusual step in the account of how the matter was referred for possible state-law violations.
Court documents, as described in the report, allege that Rice committed third-degree assault by causing bodily injury to Stagi. The documents did not describe how Stagi was injured or specifically mention a chokehold. Rice also was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly damaging Stagi’s cellphone.
The report said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Customs and Border Protection, criticized the prosecution. In a statement, the department called the case “unlawful” and characterized it as a “political stunt,” arguing that states do not have authority to investigate cases involving federal officers’ conduct.
DHS argued that federal officers acting within their official duties can be investigated only by other federal agencies. The report also said DHS told prosecutors the department was still investigating what happened in the incident, while it challenged the state’s role in pursuing charges.
Stagi said Wednesday that she was disappointed Rice was charged with less serious crimes. The assault charge is a misdemeanor, with a maximum possible sentence described in the report as just under a year in jail. She said she hopes the prosecution sends a message that immigration officers cannot tackle people indiscriminately or use excessive force.
In a broader context, the report noted that chokeholds and neck restraints have been central to public debate and state legislative changes since George Floyd’s death in 2020. It also referenced the policy shift in Colorado after lawmakers approved a ban on chokeholds as part of broader police reform legislation within a month of Floyd’s death, overriding more limited restrictions adopted four years earlier.
The incident and the legal fight also unfolded amid a larger dispute over federal authority, the report said. It cited recent comments from U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that arrests of federal officers performing their duties would be “illegal and futile,” invoking the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and federal law, while legal experts said such protections are significant but not absolute.
The report said the named officer, Nicholas Rice, did not appear in court documents as represented by an attorney listed in the records cited.