LAS ANIMAS COUNTY — A man is filing a lawsuit against the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office and a lieutenant after he was tased in the face last November.
Kenneth Espinoza's attorney said he was driving to a shop to get his truck serviced as his son was following him separately
in another vehicle. His son was pulled over by a deputy with the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office. Espinoza's attorney said he pulled over behind the deputy to wait for his son.
In the body camera video released by Epinoza's attorney, Lieutenant Henry Trujillo is seen walking up to Espinoza's window. He tells Espinoza he needs to leave or he will "get charged." Espinoza refuses, but moments later is seen backing up in his truck while deputies are seen pointing weapons at him.
In the body camera video, Trujillo and another deputy are seen trying to get Espinoza in the back of their car. According to the sheriff's office, Trujillo tased Espinoza once while he was handcuffed.
The 3rd Judicial District Attorney's Office has dropped all charges against Espinoza, including resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer. Espinoza's attorney, Kevin Mehr, is now filing a lawsuit against the sheriff's office and Trujillo for what he calls excessive force. Mehr said Trujillo should have never been on the force because of his criminal history.
In 1997, Trujillo was charged with felony menacing with a weapon which he pleaded down to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. The next year, he was convicted of misdemeanor harassment. Mehr said that conviction now should have barred Trujillo from becoming certified by the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board, which is required to be a peace officer in Colorado. However, the Colorado Department of Law said disqualifying misdemeanors, including harassment, had to have been committed on or after July 1, 2001.
Multiple restraining orders have been filed against Trujillo, including in 2006 for a domestic abuse incident. Court documents show he faced another protection order in 2007 for stalking and physical assault/threat.
"You cannot possess a firearm while that restraining order is in place," said Mehr. "It was about a six-month period of time that he was subjected to these protection orders where he was still on the force."
Mehr said Trujillo was forced to resign by the sheriff's office in 2009 because of a conviction that is now sealed.
"It was obviously something serious enough for them to terminate him," said Mehr. "When you look at his employment application, he admits that he pled guilty to something and they forced him to resign for that."
Mehr said in 2010 Trujillo was rehired. In 2018, he was promoted to Lieutenant of Patrol Operations.
"He is the third in command. He's the top-ranking patrol deputy in that department," said Mehr.
The Las Animas County Sheriff released a statement saying he has asked for help from an outside agency to review the actions of his deputies. He said Lieutenant Trujillo is still on active duty.
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