A former Colorado police officer who placed a woman in handcuffs in a police car parked on a railroad track that was later hit by a freight train has been released from prison after offering a tearful mea culpa.
Jordan Steinke, 29, was sentenced to 30 months of probation Friday after being convicted of reckless endangerment and assault for the Sept. 16, 2022, crash outside Platteville, which left his prisoner, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, with serious injuries.
During a court hearing in July, Weld County Court Judge Timothy Kerns acquitted Steinke of felony attempted first degree murder.
Kerns said he had planned to sentence the former Fort Lupton police officer to prison, but changed his mind after both prosecutors and defense attorneys argued for probation, the Denver Post reported.
“Someone will hear this and say: ‘Another officer is down,'” Kerns said. “That is not the fact of the case.”
The judge warned Steinke that if he violates the terms of his probation, “I will recall my original response on how to deal with punishment.”
Jordan Steinke, 29, a former Colorado police officer, was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation after being convicted of reckless endangerment and assault. Fort Lupton Police Department
Video released by authorities shows the moment a Union Pacific train hit a police SUV with handcuffed road rage suspect Yareni Rios-Gonzalez inside. Fort Lupton PD
Steinke, who sobbed through his sentence, apologized to Rios-Gonzalez, who attended the hearing remotely, saying that as a police officer, he “never intended for anyone else to come to harm under my watch.”
“What happened that night has haunted me for 364 days,” Steinke added, speaking to the victim. “I remember your cries and screams.”
As part of his sentence, Steinke will be required to perform 100 hours of community service.
He said he hopes to fulfill part of his community service by giving educational talks to new police officers about the dangers of railroad tracks and the importance of officers being aware of their surroundings.
The woman who was arrested suffered a brain injury and several broken bones but survived the accident. Fort Lupton PD
The incident began when Plateville police Sgt. Pablo Vazquez pulled Rios-Gonzalez aside to question her about a suspected road rage incident, in which the woman allegedly pulled a gun on another driver after following them in her truck.
Steinke, who also responded to the scene in Plateville, took Rios-Gonzalez into custody, handcuffed him and locked him in Vazquez’s police SUV, which was parked on the railroad tracks.
As seen in body camera and dashboard camera footage released by police last year, within seconds, a Union Pacific freight train approached the police vehicle with its horn blaring — but the officers appeared oblivious to the warning.
Moments later, dashcam video shows the train slamming into a police SUV with the arrested suspect still inside and dragging it down the tracks.
Officers arrested Rios-Gonzalez in Plateville, Colorado, on the night of September 16, 2022, for allegedly pulling a gun on another driver. Fort Lupton PD
Rios-Gonzalez, who suffered a lingering brain injury, nine broken ribs and a broken arm, was conflicted about how she wanted Steinke to be punished, her attorney Chris Ponce said.
“The conflict he feels is one where every day he has to feel this pain,” Ponce said. “And he had to deal with (doctor’s) appointments and his life changed radically. And feel disappointed, very disappointed about that — angry about that — but on the other hand, feel for Ms. Steinke, and, I think, really empathize with feeling sorry for the loss of her career.”
Steinke was fired from the Fort Lupton Police Department after being convicted. He is expected to lose his Peace Officer Standards and Training certification, said his attorney Mallory Revel, meaning he can no longer work in law enforcement.
During Steinke’s trial, his defense team argued that he did not know that Vazquez had parked his police vehicle on the tracks because it was dark and that he was well outside his Fort Lupton jurisdiction.
The woman was placed behind a police vehicle which had been parked on the railway tracks. AP
Vazquez still faces trial for his role in the crash. He has been charged with five counts of reckless endangerment for allegedly putting Rios-Gonzalez, Steinke and three others at risk, as well as traffic-related violations.
Rios-Gonzalez has filed a lawsuit against the police agency involved in the disastrous traffic stop.
The woman, now 21, has faced criminal charges in connection with the road rage incident. He pleaded no contest earlier this month to misdemeanor threatening and was given a suspended sentence.
With Postal wire
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