A Colorado police officer who bundled a handcuffed woman into a police vehicle that was later struck by a freight train was found guilty of assault and recklessness but acquitted of a third criminal count of attempted manslaughter during a trial Friday. .
Jordan Steinke is the first of the two officers to go to trial for this accident, which took place on September 16, 2022, and which left Yareni Ríos-González seriously injured.
“There is no reasonable doubt that placing a person in handcuffs in the back of a patrol car, parked on the railroad tracks, creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk of a train accident,” Judge Timothy Kerns said.
But the evidence did not convince Kerns that Steinke “knowingly intended to hurt Ms. Ríos-González,” adding that Stienke had shown “shock and remorse.”
Steinke testified that he did not know the car – which belonged to another officer he was helping – was parked on the tracks, but two railroad crossing signs can be seen on his body camera footage. Steinke said he was focused on the threat that could come from Ríos-González and his truck, not the environment.
Steinke said she put Ríos-González in the other police officer’s vehicle because it was the closest place to hold her. He said that he could not have known that the train was coming until the crash occurred. The judge found that Steinke did not “appreciate the risk.”
There was no jury in Steinke’s trial, which began Monday. Instead, Kerns checked the evidence and delivered the verdict. Mallory Revel, Steinke’s attorney, has not responded to phone and email requests for comment.
Steinke, who was working for the Fort Lupton Police Department at the time of the accident, was charged with criminal intent to commit manslaughter, a felony; and reckless endangerment and third degree assault, both misdemeanors.
The other officer, Pablo Vazquez, who worked for the Platteville police department, is being prosecuted for misdemeanor reckless endangerment and traffic offenses. He has yet to enter a guilty plea. His attorney, Reid Elkus, has not commented on the matter either.
Vázquez stopped Ríos-González on a rural road that intersects with US Highway 85 after she was accused of pointing a gun at another driver. The trains run parallel to the highway a dozen times a day, prosecutors said, and the sound of their horns is common in the north Denver area.
Rios-González, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, is suing over his treatment. He later pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor threat, said one of his attorneys, Chris Ponce, who was in court to watch the trial. Ríos-González did not testify or attend.
Steinke said he placed Ríos-González in the other car because it was the closest place to keep her safe, a move that is standard practice for high-risk traffic stops, defense witness Steve said. Ijames. He also testified that, in dangerous situations, officers can focus too much on particular threats and miss things that turn out to be important.
Steinke, who drove at about 100 mph to help Vázquez, testified that he was surprised to see him sitting in his vehicle when he arrived, instead of pointing a gun at Ríos-González’s truck.
Steinke also said she didn’t see the tracks when she reached down to stop Rios-Gonzalez, who was on her knees after being ordered out of her truck. “I never thought that a train would go through the scene,” Steinke said.
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