Sheriff sued in Colorado for sharing with ICE information of driver
A 19-year-old woman was stopped for a traffic issue, but was soon detained by ICE, because the officer shared her data through Signal
The Colorado Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Mesa County Deputy Alexander Zwink, who is accused of sharing a motorist's personal information with law enforcement officers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“The office filed a complaint against Mesa County Sheriff's Deputy Alexander Zwink for violating Colorado laws that prohibit law enforcement from sharing personally identifiable information,” said Attorney General Phil Weiser.
The case involves Caroline Dias Goncalves, 19, who has lived in the United States since 2012, but now faces deportation due to Zwink's actions.
The officer shared the information in a Signal group chat with ICE agents, according to the case that has sparked alerts in the state.
The young woman originally from Brazil was detained by the Mesa County deputy for a traffic violation and although she was released with a warning after allegedly driving too close to a truck, she was soon stopped by immigration agents.
The Signal chat where the information was shared includes local, state and federal law enforcement officers working on drug interdiction in western Colorado, local media, including ABC 7, reported.
The sheriff's office said it was unknown if the communication between officers also included immigration matters.
"We were not aware that the communication group was used for matters other than drug interdiction, including immigration," the office said. "We have since removed all Mesa County Sheriff's Office members from the group." The Sheriff's Office confirmed that ICE agents had been using the material shared in the chat for immigration purposes. ICE agents are conducting raids against any undocumented immigrants under new rules from President Donald Trump's administration.