Reports detail incident between driver, off-duty Fort Collins officer in video

The Fort Collins police officer at the center of an investigation of an incident that occurred while he was off duty has been identified as Stephan Sparacio.

Part of an interaction between Sparacio and a woman identified as Kimberly Chancellor was recorded by a bystander, and the officer can be seen pinning the woman to the ground.

According to Fort Collins Police Services, Sparacio was on his way to an assignment on Oct. 6 when he saw a car speeding in traffic, so he followed the car until it parked. He tried to make contact with the woman, who reportedly tried to leave, and Sparacio "physically took her into custody" after an interaction between the two in the 1100 block of West Plum Street, police said.

The bystander who recorded the video called 911 to report a man beating up a woman in a parking lot, and other on-duty officers responded to the incident.

Chancellor was cited for reckless driving and obstructing a peace officer.

The off-duty officer's report

According to the report filed by Sparacio, he was riding his personal motorcycle north on South Shields Street near the Centre Avenue intersection when he saw a Nissan Xterra SUV pass his motorcycle "at a high rate of speed traveling north."

He wrote that the vehicle was weaving through traffic and cutting off other drivers. The SUV eventually made a U-turn and pulled into a parking lot north of the Planned Parenthood Fort Collins Health Center.

"Due to the driving I observed by the Xterra, I wanted to speak with the driver," Sparacio wrote. "My intention was to contact the driver to ascertain if there was some sort of emergency. If not, then educate the driver about the potential for serious injury due to operating a large SUV in that manner."

So, he parked, and after Chancellor got out of her SUV, she started walking toward nearby apartment buildings that line West Plum Street.

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Sparacio tried to get her attention multiple times and "she ignored me as if she could not hear me." He held out his wallet so his badge was visible, he wrote. He raised his voice and called out "police" several times, but Chancellor continued walking away.

Chancellor looked back at him and said she didn't know who he was. He explained he was an officer, but she continued walking away, he said.

"I asked her to look toward me to see that I had my identification but she would not," he wrote.

With about 50 feet between them, Sparacio called out to tell Chancellor she was under arrest for obstructing police. She stopped and Sparacio caught up to her.

"I showed her my identification," he wrote. "She looked at it and said she did not realize I was the police."

Sparacio asked for Chancellor's identification, and she said it was in her car. She refused to walk back to the car with him, he said.

"I told her she was under arrest and had to go back with me to her car, where I would have a uniformed officer in a marked police car arrive to speak with her," he wrote. "She refused. I took a hold of her left arm in a somewhat relaxed but firm grip and escorted her back to her car.

This is when it appears the bystander began shooting video.

Chancellor looked for her ID in her bag, according to the report, and after retrieving it, said she wouldn't stay at the car and started to leave, Sparacio wrote.

"She struggled with me as I told her to stop resisting. I had ahold of her left arm and attempted to place her in a twist lock, but she was struggling quickly," he wrote.

After taking Chancellor to the ground face down and holding her there, Sparacio asked pedestrians to call police and was able to get her under control by holding both her hands behind her back with his right hand, he said. He called dispatch for assistance.

Sparacio asked a security guard who had approached to see what was happening for handcuffs and cuffed Chancellor.

On-duty officers then arrived at the scene and took custody of Chancellor.

An on-duty officer's report

Officer Caleb McDowell responded to the incident after police were notified by both bystanders and Sparacio.

"Officer Sparacio walked up to me and gave me a brief description of what had occurred," the report stated.

Chancellor kept repeating that Sparacio never identified himself and she had no way of knowing he was an officer.

At least two other officers arrived at the scene. McDowell advised Chancellor of her Miranda rights. She asked the reason because she was not under arrest.

"I wanted to ensure that she understood that she did not have to speak with us and that everything she told us was going to be in the report," he wrote. But she waived her rights, according to McDowell.

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Chancellor told McDowell she saw Sparacio follow her into the apartment complex parking lot. She said she was scared because she knew he did not normally park there.

"She said ... Officer Sparacio continued to tell her to stop but never identified himself as a cop until they were closer to the apartment," the report stated. 

Chancellor said Sparacio grabbed her arm and told her she was going to jail when initially it was only going to be a ticket. She told McDowell she was scared and didn't know what to do.

"She said once back at the vehicle, she did not know what happened but that the situation escalated and he took her to the ground," McDowell wrote.

Chancellor told Sparacio she didn't think that was right because he didn't have lights or sirens to pull her over and that she wanted to call her lawyer. She said Sparacio got mad and slammed her to the ground, put his knee in her back and held her head to the ground. She tried to call her parents, but Sparacio threw the phone away from her.

According to McDowell, witnesses confirmed to police that Sparacio identified himself as an officer several times and was holding out an item, though they couldn't see it was his badge.

McDowell told Chancellor what she was being cited for and "explained to her how to better handle the situation in the future ... I told her I could understand how she was scared. However, if she knew he was a cop or was continually concerned about it, she could call 911."

Chancellor told McDowell, according to the report, she couldn't call 911 initially because her phone was at the bottom of her purse and she didn't see Sparacio's badge or hear him until he was closer to her. 

Interactions with off-duty officers

Fort Collins Police Services Lt. Jerrod Kinsman said the incident is being investigated.

"Our relationship with the community is important to us, and an internal investigation is being conducted to thoroughly review the facts," Kinsman said.

Sparacio is not on administrative leave. The on-duty officers who responded were wearing body-mounted cameras, and that footage is part of the internal review process, Kinsman said.

An off-duty officer can legally take any action an on-duty officer can, Kinsman said. However, the department has policies requiring officers to consider the circumstances before taking action, taking into account community perceptions.

"We encourage officers to take action generally when there's a necessary or imminent issue occurring (that) they should take action on," Kinsman said. It should be reasonable action depending on the circumstances, he noted.

Officers are encouraged to drive their marked police cars even in off-duty capacities, according to Kinsman.

"We request that our officers are prudent with their decision-making when they're off duty," he said.

Kinsman recognizes that when an officer is not in a police car, and especially with a fear about police impersonators, residents may not always know an off-duty officer is truly a police officer. He cited the Lacy Miller homicide in 2003, which people often reference about potential police impersonation in Northern Colorado. 

Jason Clausen pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after imprsonating an officer in Fort Collins, abducting Miller and killing her.

Police encourage people to call 911 to verify authenticity of a police officer or badge if they have questions.

At the same time, Kinsman said, "if an officer contacts a citizen lawfully, they need to comply with what the officer is asking them to do."

Excerpts from the Fort Collins Police Services manual: Off-Duty Law Enforcement Actions

PURPOSE AND SCOPE The decision to become involved in a law enforcement action when off-duty can place an officer as well as others at great risk and must be done with careful consideration. This Policy is intended to provide guidelines for Agency officers with respect to taking law enforcement action while off-duty.

POLICY A police officer who becomes aware of an incident or circumstance that he/she reasonably believes poses an imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death or significant property damage may take reasonable action to minimize the threat.

DECISION TO INTERVENE When officers decide to take law enforcement action while off-duty they must evaluate whether the action is necessary or desirable and should take into consideration:
(a) The tactical disadvantage of being alone and that there may be multiple or hidden suspects;
(b) Communication with responding units;
(c) The availability of equipment, such as handcuffs, Oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray or a baton;
(d) The availability of cover;
(e) The potential for increased risk to bystanders if the off-duty officer were to intervene; (f) Familiarity with the surroundings; and
(g) The potential for the off-duty officer to be misidentified by other peace officers or members of the public.
Officers should consider waiting for on-duty uniformed officers to arrive and gather as much accurate intelligence as possible.

Find the full policy at fcgov.com/police/pdf/policy_manual.pdf, policy 387.

Reporter Saja Hindi covers public safety and local politics. You can follow her on Twitter @BySajaHindi or email her at shindi@coloradoan.com.