According to the suit filed in Mesa County District Court, deputy Alexander Zwinck violated Colorado law by working with immigration officials to detain a Utah woman after a traffic stop last month, Deputy Zwinck stopped the nursing student in early June for following to close to a semi-truck on I-70.
He then uploaded her personal identifying information to a Signal group chat, which she knew included federal immigration officers. Deputy Zwinck was told the driver had no criminal history but was a Brazilian national on an expired visa. Instead of ending communications with federal officials, as there were no criminal charges to follow up on deputies, wink assisted immigration officials in detaining the driver.
Colorado law explicitly prohibits county municipalities and state agency employees, including sheriff's departments from disclosing personal information for the purpose of assisting with federal immigration enforcement. The Attorney General's office has an ongoing investigation into law enforcement involved in the Signal group chat to determine if they were engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the state constitution.
