No jail time for Colorado police officer who locked woman in SUV struck by train

Jordan Steinke, 29, was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation

A Fort Lupton police officer sentenced to probation on Friday for locking a handcuffed woman in a police vehicle that was hit by a freight train.

Jordan Steinke, 29, was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation in Weld County District Court after an hour-long hearing. After the Sept. 16, 2022, crash on railroad tracks near U.S. 85 and Weld County Road 38, the former officer was convicted in July of reckless endangerment and assault.

That night, after a reported road rage incident, Steinke and then-Platteville police Sgt. Pablo Vazquez stopped driver Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, took her into custody, and locked her in a police SUV parked on railroad tracks. The officers then failed to move the SUV as a train barreled down the tracks with its horn blaring, colliding with it.

Rios-Gonzalez survived but was severely injured.

Both officers were charged criminally, with Steinke being the first to go to trial. She chose a bench trial before Weld County District Court Judge Timothy Kerns, who found her guilty on two charges but not guilty on a third, attempted criminally negligent homicide.

Kerns stated on Friday that he had planned to sentence Steinke to prison but changed his mind after hearing the prosecution and defense arguments. The prosecution requested 30 months of supervised probation, while the defense requested one year of unsupervised probation.

Kerns stated that he initially believed that a jail sentence would send a message to law enforcement that police officers would be held accountable for misconduct, but after hearing the arguments, he decided to “check myself.”

“Someone’s going to hear this and say, ‘Another officer gets off,'” Kerns predicted. “Those are not the facts of this case.” And the court is crafting a sentence that, hopefully, will include some educational component. If there is a violation, Ms. Steinke, I will return to my initial gut reaction regarding sentencing. That is something I want to be clear about.”

During the sentencing, Steinke sobbed and apologized to Rios-Gonzalez in a statement read in court.

“What happened that night has haunted me for 364 days,” said Steinke. “I recall your cries and screams. I recall pleading with you to tell me your name. I’m hoping you’ll stay awake. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. We were unable to get you out of the car.”

Steinke said she hoped to educate new police officers about the dangers of railroad tracks and the importance of officers being aware of their surroundings. Kerns mandated that she complete 100 hours of community service, with any “educational component” counting toward those hours.

Steinke was fired following his conviction. Her attorney, Mallory Revel, stated during Friday’s sentencing hearing that her third-degree assault conviction will also result in the revocation of her Peace Officer Standards and Training certification.

“Decertification, which we anticipate, means she will never be a police officer again,” Revel explained.

During the sentencing hearing, Rios-Gonzalez’s attorney, Chris Ponce, made a statement on his client’s behalf. He claimed that Rios-Gonzalez, who sustained a permanent brain injury as well as physical injuries in the crash, lost faith in the justice system that night and was conflicted about what sentence Steinke should receive.

“The conflict that she feels is one where every day she has to feel this pain,” Ponce explained. “And she’s had to deal with (doctor) appointments and her life being so drastically altered.” And feeling upset, very upset, angry about it — but also feeling for Ms. Steinke, and, I believe, truly empathetically feeling sorry for how she has lost her career.”

Ponce went on to say that Rios-Gonzalez, who was present at the hearing virtually, did want Steinke to write an apology letter. Kerns refused to compel Steinke to do so.

“That needs to come from you, from your heart, not because a judge told you to,” Kerns advised Steinke.

Several people spoke out in Steinke’s defense during the sentencing hearing. They stated that she has had nightmares and panic attacks since the accident and has felt guilty and remorseful about it.

Steinke stated to the judge that she hoped to “make some good out of this.”

“I am so sorry,” she apologized in court to Rios-Gonzalez. “As a police officer, I never intended for another human being to suffer under my supervision.” “I accept the court’s decision to hold me accountable for what happened to you that night, and I accept my full responsibility.”

Vazquez’s case is still pending, with a pre-trial conference scheduled for December.