Officer who put suspect in car hit by train guilty of reckless endangerment but not manslaughter
Jul 28, 2023, 1:17 PM
This screen grab from dash camera video provided by the Fort Lupton Police Department shows a freight train hitting a parked police car with a suspect inside, Sept. 16, 2022, in Fort Lupton, Colo. A trial began Monday, July 24, 2023, for the police officer accused of putting the handcuffed woman in the car. The collision seriously injured 21-year-old Yareni Rios. The date/time stamp shown on the video is incorrect. (Fort Lupton Police Department via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Fort Lupton Police Department via AP)
DENVER (AP) — A Colorado police officer who put a handcuffed woman in a parked police vehicle that was hit by a freight train has been found guilty of reckless endangerment and assault. Jordan Steinke was acquitted of the third charge of manslaughter.
Steinke was the first of two officers to go trial over the Sept. 16, 2022, crash that left Yareni Rios-Gonzalez seriously injured.
Steinke testified that she did not know that the patrol car of another officer she was helping was parked on the tracks even though they can be seen on her body camera footage along with two railroad crossing signs. Steinke said she was focused on the threat that could come from Rios-Gonzalez and her pickup truck, not the ground.
Steinke said she put Rios-Gonzalez in the other officer’s vehicle because it was the nearest spot to temporarily hold her. She said she didn’t know the train was coming until just before it hit.
There was no jury in Steinke’s trial, which started Monday. Instead, Judge Timothy Kerns listened to the evidence and issued the verdict.
