A man who was held in a federal detention facility after Whitefish police pulled him over for an allegedly faulty taillight in April has filed a lawsuit alleging racial profiling and a violation of his constitutional rights against the city of Whitefish, Whitefish Police Chief Bridger Kelch, and Officer Michael Hingiss, who conducted the traffic stop.
Beker Rengifo Del Castillo, 33, is a Venezuelan citizen who was leaving a job near Whitefish Lake on April 24 when Hingiss stopped him, according to the lawsuit, allegedly for a broken brake light. Hingiss called Customs and Border Protection, and Del Castillo was left in the custody of a Customs and Border Protection officer and subsequently taken to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Washington, “a horrific and traumatic experience,” according to court documents.
Whitefish City Attorney Angela Jacobs told the Daily Montanan in an email that the city cannot comment on active litigation…