Posted on 03/09/2024 6:43:49 AM PST by CFW
A sheriff's office in southern Colorado has settled a lawsuit with a 71-year-old man who deputies allegedly tased 35 times in 2022 for $1.5 million.
Kenneth Espinoza, of Trinidad, was in his truck when Las Animas County sheriff's deputies pulled over his son. Espinoza was asked to pull his vehicle behind the deputies' cars but was almost immediately detained and eventually tased while handcuffed in the back of a patrol car a number of times. Two of those deputies were fired in September 2023.
One of the attorneys representing Espinoza said when the deputies were fired that this was "the most clear cut case of police negligence, brutality and abuse of power that I've ever seen." Espinoza was not accused of any crime and his attorneys say he posed no threat to deputies or anyone else.
In response to the lawsuit settlement, Espinoza's attorney Kevin Mehr said the decision benefits all Coloradans.
"This settlement is not only a victory for Mr. Espinoza and his family," Mehr said in a statement. "It's a victory for the people of Colorado and sends a clear message to thugs like this who think a badge is a license for brutality, your day is done. If the sheriff won't hold you accountable, we will."
The lawsuit was filed against former Las Animas Sheriff's Lt. Henry Trujillo, former Deputy Mikhail Noel, Undersheriff Rey Santistevan, Sheriff Derek Navarette, the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office and the Las Animas County Board of County Commissioners.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Warning: If you watch the video of the incident make sure you first take your blood pressure medications.
“This settlement is not only a victory for Mr. Espinoza and his family,” Mehr said
Is a settlement really a victory, or is just getting paid the victory?
A cop often has to make a rapid, split-second decision while under pressure. And sometimes that decision will be wrong. That’s what qualified immunity should be for. I get that.
But in this case the cops casually committed a crime. No time pressure here. The older driver did absolutely nothing wrong. He was told to leave the scene (a place where he had a right to be). Then he was told to stay.
Then he was brutally assaulted. These cops should be more than just fired. They should be in prison.
The deputies should be serving 20 years in prison
The settlement is token compared to what’s swirling in my mind after watching that.
Those deputies should be in prison, not just fired
Also, if there had been no video, we would have gotten another “we have investigated ourselves and find we did nothing wrong”, just like Democrats.
Unfortunately, the taxpayers end up paying and the cops just move along to the next town or state and get a job as an officer there. In 2020 Colorado ended qualified immunity so I hope at least some of this settlement is coming from the cops themselves.
I watched the video. I hope these cops win on appeal. The cops gave him legal orders, and he refused to obey them at every turn.
The tases forced him to comply. He doesn’t like that. Tough.
“The cops gave him legal orders, and he refused to obey them at every turn.”
My first thought too, and I’m typically no fan of the pigs. He’s lucky to even be alive. If you want to argue, do it in front of a judge.
> Also, if there had been no video… <
You’ve got that right. Below is a video where an off-duty cop sucker-punches a civilian. It’s a case of road rage. Another cop went to the off-duty cop’s house to investigate the incident.
The off-duty cop had the nerve to ask that the guy he punched be arrested for breach of the peace. No can do, said the investigating officer. There’s video.
https://youtu.be/GMcHGYIk-rg?si=onkW5DrCwX_88ga5
Much better than the link..that didn’t make sense. The father was with his son? In his own car or what? Apparently following the son in his vehicle but that would have been too easy, I guess.
Leave - don’t leave - get out of the car - get in the car - get out of the car...
HOLY COW! That should have been plastered all over TV when it happened and as it was working its way through the courts to its conclusion. What a bunch of goons. There couldn’t have been ONE officer there that had an IQ equal to room temperature.
I stayed with it as long as I could stand it but I don’t know if the father was allowed to leave.
The judgment should have come out of every officer’s pocket that took part in that scene...I wouldn’t care if they stayed broke for the rest of their lives..what did they learn? I would guess NOTHING!!! So they’re out of a job. Too bad! Who wants to hire hot heads like that for ANY job? Maybe as trash hauler?
This is where we are heading very fast. That along with the lack of a well thought out sentence-”...has settled a lawsuit with a 71-year-old man who deputies allegedly tased 35 times in 2022 for $1.5 million.”
“I watched the video. I hope these cops win on appeal. The cops gave him legal orders, and he refused to obey them at every turn.
The tases forced him to comply. He doesn’t like that. Tough.”
Bullcrap. Those were not legal orders. Just because a cop orders you to do something does not make it legal. They violated his constitutional rights every step of the way.
Should have heeded your warning but I’ll settle down..
THAT was as bad as it gets. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see them pull out their REAL guns..so it could have been worse. Whatever price the officers themselves had to pay wasn’t enough IMO.
Didn’t the cops need probable cause?
What is the law when police demand you give up your rights?
“”They should be in prison.””
I’ll second that...They weren’t under pressure period. They chose to exert their authority because one motorist wasn’t obeying their orders. WHICH orders?
What’s anyone supposed to do when they’re told LEAVE, then STAY, GET OUT of the vehicle, GET IN the vehicle, GET OUT of the vehicle...
Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum at work? No - worse!!!
“The settlement is token compared to what’s swirling in my mind after watching that.”
My default has been to give cops the benefit of the doubt in most cases, but those days are quickly entering the rear view mirror.
This is the jackass right here that started my journey on maybe the cops aren’t in the noble tradition my grandfather explained them to be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kassP7zI0qc
> Who wants to hire hot heads like that for ANY job? <
It’s not clear if those cops were criminally charged, or if they lost their police certifications. But if they skated on that, there’s a good chance they’ll become “gypsy cops”, and be hired on by some other department.
Many police departments are desperate for certified officers ready to hit the street on day-one. They’ll take a chance with a bad cop. This happened all the time.
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