MESA COUNTY, Colo. — The Mesa County sheriff’s deputy at the center of a lawsuit brought by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is facing disciplinary action for his alleged role in sharing information with federal immigration officials, Sheriff Todd Rowell announced in an administrative review Tuesday.
Rowell, however, also took aim at Weiser, saying the attorney general is sending a “demoralizing message” to law enforcement by unfairly enforcing the state's law against sharing information with federal immigration officials.
Last month, Mesa County Sheriff’s Deputy Alexander Zwinck conducted a traffic stop of 19-year-old Caroline Dias-Goncalves, a college student at the University of Utah, originally from Brazil.
Weiser’s office said Dias-Goncalves had an expired visa but no criminal history, and Deputy Zwinck used a Signal group chat with other law enforcement agencies to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of Dias-Goncalves’ location.
Deputy Zwinck let Dias-Goncalves go, but ICE detained her shortly afterwards. She then spent two weeks at the ICE facility in Aurora, run by The GEO Group.
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Weiser filed a lawsuit against Zwinck, claiming he violated Colorado's law against local law enforcement assisting federal immigration enforcement.
In Tuesday’s release, Sheriff Rowell apologized to Dias-Goncalves, saying his department should not have been involved in the lead-up to her detention. He also announced discipline for five sheriff's deputies, including Zwinck, who will receive three weeks of unpaid leave and be reassigned to patrol duties. Zwinck was a member of the Western Colorado Task Force.
However, Rowell claims the other law enforcement agencies in the Signal group chat, such as Colorado State Patrol, also shared information with ICE and should be held to the same legal standard.
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Rowell asked Weiser to drop the lawsuit against Zwinck and let agencies handle internal discipline, or “apply the law equally” and file lawsuits “for each state and local law enforcement officer in the group chat and other government officials who have violated SB 21-131 and SB 25-276.”
In a statement, CSP said it no longer shares information in the Signal group chat.
- Read the full statement below
The Colorado State Patrol’s primary mission is traffic safety for Coloradans and visitors to Colorado. We value our federal partners and will continue to work with them on criminal matters while following Colorado State law on immigration enforcement.
This incident involving Caroline Dias-Goncalves, Mesa County Sheriff Deputy Alexander Zwinck, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prompted the Patrol to reevaluate its use of the Signal group chat due to an apparent lack of shared purpose among all agencies on the platform. For the Patrol, our use was for operations targeting the combat of drug trafficking and organized crime; other organizations may have different priorities and goals. As of June 18, 2025, the Patrol no longer shares information on this chat.
The Colorado State Patrol respects the ongoing Administrative Review launched by Attorney General Phil Weiser as part of professional accountability and continuous improvement of policing in our State. We respect Mesa County Sheriff Rowell's corrective actions, but believe his judgments regarding the Patrol are misinformed and premature. The Patrol remains committed to transparency in this process.
