PHOENIX — In the disciplinary trial against the prosecutor who helped falsely charge protesters as gang members, two victims testified about the personal toll the case took on them.
All the criminal charges that were brought by April Sponsel against Ryder Collins and Amy Kaper were eventually dismissed after an ABC15 investigation exposed that the case was based on dubious claims and made-up evidence.
“[It felt like] these people are trying to bury me,” Collins told the panel of judges presiding over the case. “That was a very scary feeling.”
POLITICALLY CHARGED: ABC15 investigates Phoenix protest cases
Collins is a nurse who was in downtown Phoenix on October 17, 2020, to shoot photography of the buildings at sunset.
He saw the protest pass by and decided to watch from the sidewalk.
Police and witness videos show he never participated in the demonstration. But officers swept him up and charged him as part of the group.
“I’m very conservative. I’ve always been pro-police. Still am. It just kind of shook my trust in law enforcement,” Collins said. “As much as I support the cops, I’m afraid to talk to them.”
Sponsel and officers presented clearly false information about Collins to a grand jury and even alleged the group was part of a criminal street gang.
The charges hung over his head for more than three months.
Collins spoke to ABC15 for an investigative report that aired on February 4, 2021.
The station’s investigation revealed actual proof of his innocence and had an immediate effect.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office held a high-level review and dismissed the charges against Collins within days of the report.
“I was just depressed,” he testified. “It was the hardest time in my life living with the charges over my head.”
The disciplinary panel also heard testimony from Amy Kaper (they/them), who’s an actual protester falsely accused by Sponsel of being in a gang.
Kaper testified they saw a flyer for the protest and had never met any of the other demonstrators before that night.
“I have pretty severe PTSD,” Kaper said. “I have nightmares about that night about how scary it was and how scary it was for my partner… He was a caregiver for elderly disabled people and they took away his fingerprint clearance card because he was charged with a violent felony.”
Sponsel and Phoenix officers invented a fake gang and charged the protesters as members.
Confidential grand jury transcripts show they compared the group of 18 protesters to notorious gangs like the Bloods, Crips, and Hells Angels.
At one point during the disciplinary trial, the absurdity of the gang allegation was highlighted when Bar attorneys asked Kaper about their current work in government defense.
When one attorney asked if Kaper had a security clearance, they answered, “Yes. Top secret.”
Sponsel’s attorneys did not heavily cross-examine Ryder or Kaper, instead asking only a few clarifying questions.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
