MESA COUNTY, Colo. — Mesa County commissioners on Tuesday voted to countersue Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser over a lawsuit against a county deputy who allegedly shared information with federal immigration enforcement agents in violation of state law following a traffic stop in early June.
Weiser sued Mesa County Deputy Alexander Zwinck last month, claiming the deputy shared information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in a Signal group chat after stopping 19-year-old Brazilian national and Utah nursing student Caroline Dias Goncalves in early June. The woman had an expired visa but no criminal history.
Colorado law prohibits state and local officials from assisting federal immigration enforcement, which prompted the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the stop and place Zwinck on leave.
Last week, Denver7 reported that Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell had concluded that investigation and announced that five deputies, including Zwinck, were being disciplined in the wake of the traffic stop. In a news release, Rowell also apologized to Dias Goncalves, saying his department should not have been involved in the lead-up to her detention.
Politics
Mesa County sheriff says Colorado AG lawsuit is about politics, not fairness
In announcing the disciplinary actions against his deputies, Rowell also took aim at Weiser, saying the attorney general was sending a “demoralizing message” to law enforcement by unfairly enforcing state law.
Rowell claimed other law enforcement agencies in that Signal group chat, such as the Colorado State Patrol, also shared information with ICE and should be held to the same standard. He also asked Weiser to drop the lawsuit against Zwinck and let agencies handle internal discipline.
In response to the Weiser’s lawsuit, Mesa County Commissioners Cody Davis, Bobbie Daniel and JJ Fletcher said Tuesday they would file suit “to protect the constitutional rights of Mesa County employees.”
“The filing of this complaint is intended to seek legal clarity regarding the role and responsibilities of local law enforcement under current state law, Senate Bill 25-276, and to protect Mesa County’s legal and financial interests,” the commissioners said in a joint statement.
Noting that the lawsuit carries “large fiscal implications” for the county, the commissioners said the fallout from the traffic stop could have been resolved through cooperation and communication, “rather than being turned into political theater.”
The commissioners said the sheriff’s office would work with the county’s attorney’s office “to gain clarity through this legal process” and said they were confident the lawsuit would protect the county and its employees, while at the same time clarifying the role of law enforcement in the community “in a manner that prioritizes both public safety and the public’s trust."
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