Former Federal Heights Police Department Sergeant Pablo Cesar Vazquez became part of one of Colorado’s most disturbing police negligence cases after he later joined the Platteville Police Department and parked his patrol vehicle on railroad tracks during a traffic stop. A handcuffed woman, Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, was placed in the vehicle by another officer before a freight train slammed into it, leaving her with serious injuries.
The case is not only about one horrific night near Platteville, Colorado. It is also about warning signs. A CBS News Colorado investigation reported that before Vazquez joined Platteville, he had worked as a sergeant for the Federal Heights Police Department, where his performance had already been questioned by fellow officers and supervisors.
Federal Heights Had Already Flagged Vazquez As A Risk
According to CBS News Colorado, Vazquez worked as a Federal Heights Police Department sergeant starting in 2014. In 2019 and 2020, he was reportedly the subject of five internal affairs investigations, including complaints initiated by fellow officers. One complaint reportedly said officers under Vazquez raised concerns about his work performance. Another described problems with radio awareness, unit awareness, call awareness, response time, and knowledge of where his officers were during calls.
Federal Heights administrators placed Vazquez on a performance improvement plan in 2019. CBS reported that the plan described his documented failure to provide adequate supervision as a significant liability risk to the City of Federal Heights and to officer safety. His 2019 performance review reportedly rated his quality of work poorly and said his leadership needed improvement.
Despite that documented history, Vazquez resigned from Federal Heights on March 14, 2020, and went to work for the Platteville Police Department.
The Train Crash Incident (separate story here)
On September 16, 2022, Vazquez was working as a Platteville Police Department sergeant when he stopped Yareni Rios-Gonzalez during a reported road-rage investigation involving a firearm. According to reports and court filings, Rios-Gonzalez stopped her vehicle after clearing railroad tracks, but Vazquez stopped his patrol vehicle directly on the tracks.
Fort Lupton Police officers Jordan Steinke and Ryan Thomeczek arrived to assist. Rios-Gonzalez was handcuffed and placed in the back of Vazquez’s patrol vehicle while officers searched her vehicle. The patrol vehicle remained on the tracks.
A train approached. The horn could be heard. Officers did not move the patrol vehicle in time. The train struck the police vehicle with Rios-Gonzalez trapped inside.
According to Denver7, Rios-Gonzalez was hospitalized and suffered severe injuries. CBS Colorado reported that those injuries included a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs, a broken leg, and a broken back.
Criminal Charges Against Vazquez
The Weld County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Vazquez with five counts of reckless endangerment, one count of obstructing a highway or other passageway, one count of careless driving, and one count of parking where prohibited.
Vazquez later reached a plea deal. According to CBS News Colorado, he pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment and received 12 months of unsupervised deferred judgment and sentence. CBS also reported that because the plea was to a second-degree misdemeanor, Vazquez could keep his Colorado law enforcement certification and could be eligible to work as a police officer again.
That outcome drew criticism from Rios-Gonzalez’s attorney, who called the sentence disappointing and said Rios-Gonzalez wished there had been more of a permanent conviction.
Civil Lawsuit And $8.5 Million Settlement
Rios-Gonzalez sued the Platteville Police Department, Vazquez, the Fort Lupton Police Department, Officer Jordan Steinke, and Officer Ryan Thomeczek. In June 2024, attorneys announced that the case had settled for $8.5 million. According to Denver7, the towns of Platteville and Fort Lupton agreed to split the settlement cost under a single insurance policy.
People reported that the complaint identified him as Sgt. Pablo Cesar Vazquez and said he had stopped behind Rios-Gonzalez’s car directly on top of the railroad tracks. The complaint also alleged there were railroad warning signs and a blue emergency notification sign with a phone number officers could have called to notify Union Pacific Railroad that police activity was occurring on the tracks.
Why This Case Belongs On FuckedCops.com
This case is a brutal reminder that police negligence can be just as life-altering as intentional violence. Vazquez did not simply make a paperwork mistake. He parked a patrol vehicle on railroad tracks during a police stop. A handcuffed woman was then locked inside that vehicle. A train hit it.
The Federal Heights history makes the case even more troubling. Vazquez had already been flagged by a prior police department for supervision and performance concerns. Yet he still moved into another police job, kept authority, and ended up at the center of a catastrophic incident that nearly killed a woman in police custody.
Rios-Gonzalez survived, but survival is not the same thing as justice. The public was left with another example of how officers with warning signs can move from department to department until the consequences become impossible to ignore.
Sources:
- CBS News Colorado: Vazquez labeled liability risk by previous police department
- Weld County District Attorney: Officers charged in September train collision case
- CBS News Colorado: Vazquez pleads guilty to reckless endangerment
- Denver7: Rios-Gonzalez awarded $8.5 million settlement
- People: Lawsuit settlement and Pablo Cesar Vazquez details
