The city of Whitefish is refuting allegations of negligence and misconduct lodged by a Venezuelan man who was detained by federal immigration officials following a traffic stop earlier this year.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Aug. 11, plaintiff Beker Rengifo del Castillo accused the city of unconstitutional seizure, false arrest, negligence and failure to train police officers. All four counts stem from a traffic stop conducted by former Whitefish Police officer Michael Hingiss on April 24, 2025. 

After pulling Rengifo del Castillo over for a broken taillight, Hingiss contacted federal immigration officials. Rengifo del Castillo was subsequently detained by Whitefish-based U.S. Border Patrol agents and transferred to the Northwest Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center in Tacoma, Wash., where he was held for about a week before being released without charge.   

Rengifo del Castillo entered the country legally in 2024 under a humanitarian parole program. At the time of Rengifo del Castillo’s arrest, a federal judge in Massachusetts had halted efforts to reverse that program. 

The city of Whitefish and Police Chief Bridger Kelch filed a response to the lawsuit Oct. 14, denying accusations that Hingiss profiled Rengifo del Castillo when he decided to contact Border Patrol agents. Body camera footage referenced in the original complaint recorded Hingiss telling Border Patrol dispatch, “Just out with a male that only speaks Spanish, wondering if you want to check him." 

“City defendents admit Hingiss’s communications with Customs and Border Patrol are captured on the body cam and vehicle videos and that his statements speak for themselves,” wrote Tracey Neighbor Johnson, an attorney with Boone Karlberg P.C. who is representing the city in the case. 

But the document went on to argue that the original complaint failed to acknowledge the “totality of the circumstances” involved in the traffic stop.  

During the stop, Rengifo del Castillo provided Hingiss with his driver’s license, proof of insurance and vehicle registration. Those documents did not constitute proof of Rengifo del Castillo’s legal presence in the country, according to the city’s response. 

In an incident report released by the Whitefish Police Department, Hingiss noted that the Rengifo del Castillo’s vehicle registration predated his driver's license.  

“Officer Hingiss also noted a limited language ability. [Rengifo del Castillo] appeared nervous during this interaction,” wrote Hingiss in the report. “Officer Hingiss requested a person check through U.S. Border Patrol Spokane Dispatch. Immigration violations have been an ongoing issue in Flathead County.” 

Hingiss remained in his vehicle intermittently speaking with Border Patrol dispatch for “more than nine minutes,” according to court documents. The city’s response states that a Border Patrol agent arrived on the scene “just as the written warning was printing out.” 

That timeline is scrutinized in the lawsuit, as Rengifo del Castillo alleges that Hingiss had “more than enough time” to draft and print a written warning for the broken taillight before federal authorities arrived.  

The complaint references a 2015 Supreme Court ruling that states a traffic stop “become[s] unlawful it if is prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to complete the mission of issuing a ticket for the violation” to argue that Hingiss "personally participated in Beker’s arrest by extending his vehicle stop.” 

The Police Department’s internal policy on immigration violations states that “no individual who is otherwise ready to be released should continue to be detained only because questions about the individual's status are unresolved.” 

In its response, the city denied allegations that Hingiss took an unreasonable amount of time to issue the warning to Rengifo del Castillo, as well as allegations that the department failed to appropriately train officers in immigration violations. 

The lawsuit includes a total of five counts against the city of Whitefish, including one count of unconstitutional seizure, one count of false arrest, one count of negligence and two counts of failure to train. Kelch is named in one count of failure to train. 

Three separate counts are lodged against Hingiss for unconstitutional seizure, false arrest and violations of equal protection rights, respectively. Hingiss has not yet filed a response to the complaint.  

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto will preside over the case in U.S. District Court in Missoula. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.   

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].