CBP officer charged with assault over treatment of protester outside Colorado ICE facility

Source: PBS News/AP

Apr 22, 2026 6:36 PM EDT


An immigration officer has been charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief following an investigation into how he treated a protester who said the officer put her in a chokehold. Multiple videos from bystanders show a masked agent grabbing and pulling Franci Stagi across the street during a protest in October against the detention of three Colombian asylum-seekers in Durango, Colorado. She said he grabbed her by the hair and put her in a chokehold.

The state is among several that prohibited or severely limited police officers from using chokeholds and neck restraints since George Floyd's death in 2020. The Colorado Bureau of Investigations launched an investigation into the officer's actions against Stagi at the request of Durango Police Department Chief Brice Current, who raised concerns about possible violations of state law — an unusual if not unprecedented request.

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which launched its own investigation, acknowledged a request Wednesday seeking comment but didn't immediately respond to questions about the charges. Court documents didn't list any attorney as representing the officer, Nicholas Rice.

Stagi said she was standing close to the officer and filming him outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Durango, a college town popular for outdoor recreation, when he hit her hand hard, causing her to lose her cellphone. Stagi, a retired hypnotherapist, said she then reached for the officer's shoulder to get his attention. After she said he put her in a chokehold, she said he threw her down an embankment next to the street. She said she still experiences pain in her arm doing normal everyday activities, like putting on her jacket.

Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/cbp-officer-charged-with-assault-over-treatment-of-protester-outside-colorado-ice-facility