A late-night traffic stop south of Denver, Colorado, has led to felony charges, but not for the suspect– rather, for the police officer, or now-former police officer. Bodycam footage of the traffic stop has revealed that the Denver cop got a little too frustrated after the driver he stopped kept speaking Spanish, leading to the cop tasing, choking, and bodyslamming the driver.
Ryan Scott Vasina, 30, is the former Denver cop in question. On October 8, Vasina pulled over Carlos Jose Rangel-Rincones, 20, for allegedly running a stop sign, but the situation spiraled after a language barrier left the two struggling to communicate. Body camera footage shows Rangel-Rincones speaking only Spanish, asking “¿Por qué?” (“Why?”) when Vasina demanded his license in broken Spanish. Here’s the video of the incident:
Despite Rangel-Rincones appearing calm and compliant and even turning off his car when told, the officer can be heard yelling, “Let me see your [expletive] hands! We’re not gonna play this [expletive]” before firing his taser, dragging the man out with a chokehold, and pinning him to the ground. While it appears the driver knew some English words, he was unable to communicate in English properly.
During the struggle, dashboard footage shows Vasina placing Rangel-Rincones in a 12-second chokehold, which is banned under Colorado law. The driver can be heard pleading, “I don’t know what you say… translator, please,” and later gasping, “My neck… water for me, please.” Photos taken the next day show bruising around the man’s neck.
Englewood Police Chief David Jackson condemned the incident, saying Vasina’s behavior “does not reflect the values” of the department. The officer was fired in October after an internal review. Meanwhile, Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Vasina with second-degree assault, first-degree official misconduct, and third-degree assault; he was then arrested after the investigation.
The Colorado court thinks choking someone over a language barrier is excessive
Currently, Vasina is undergoing further investigation in jail. If convicted, the former Denver cop will spend up to eight years in prison and will be permanently barred from serving as a police officer in Colorado. A District Attorney from Colorado has since condemned Vasina’s actions, as a further affidavit from Rangel-Rincones indicated he didn’t understand the former cop’s initial reason for stopping him due to the broken Spanish he spoke.
“It is evident from the video footage of the interaction between Officer Vasina and the driver that a language barrier existed, and that Vasina responded with visible frustration and anger… The penalty for failing to stop at a stop sign or even refusing to provide identification does not warrant a use of force response that Vasina engaged in, particularly where there was no active resistance, threatening language, furtive movements or attempts to flee or evade,” says Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley, transcript courtesy of KDVR.
Sadly, this wouldn’t be the first time someone committed violence on another, all because of a language barrier. One irate woman from Washington even called ICE on the whole state after Spanish-speaking McDonald’s employees failed to take her order. At the moment, the verdict for Vasina’s charges is pending, though it appears he won’t be stopping any more drivers in Colorado.
