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Colorado sheriff's office settles for $1.5M in tasing lawsuit: "If the sheriff won't hold you accountable, we will"
CBS news ^ | 3/4/24 | By Austen Erblat

Posted on 03/09/2024 6:43:49 AM PST by CFW

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To: Leaning Right

[[A good cop would understand this, and give the citizen a bit of leeway.]]

I agree completely with that especially where he was a relative of the kid- which he was trying to tell the officers that it was his son that was stopped and he pulled up to see if he woudl need a ride home, or whatever- the cop ‘could have’ been more decent about it and said “Yes, i understand, but you need to move because this is an active police scene”, but the cop started throwing F-Bombs at the fella- no doubt pissing the guy off, making him bristle and start to argue-

I think in this case- the cop jumped from cop to power drunk way too fast- the cop needs anger control management it seems- His anger hyped up the other cop too-


41 posted on 03/09/2024 9:11:58 AM PST by Bob434
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To: nagant

> You can’t refuse to leave the scene when cops order you to… <

You most certainly can when the order is illegal. And as I noted in my post #21, the order was illegal. Disobeying an illegal order won’t save you from a false arrest, though. And that’s when the courts need to step in and punish the cops.

Side note to nagant: You and I are obviously far apart on this issue. But your arguments have been calm and reasonable. A good conversation advances when different points of view are presented.

There are some “cops are always right” people here. They are shrill in their arguments. You are evidently not one of them. So it bothers me to see the personal insults directed to you. I think you are wrong. But you’ve been polite. You deserve the same in return.


42 posted on 03/09/2024 9:14:58 AM PST by Leaning Right (The steal is real.)
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To: nagant

the cops didn’t try to detain until after he started to comply- it was the other cop sayign that he wasn’t allowed to leave- not the one near the truck- i doubt the driver heard the other cop- as soon as the cop by the truck said “Stop- the fella stopped, then backed up-


43 posted on 03/09/2024 9:17:17 AM PST by Bob434
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To: CFW
The lawsuit was filed against former Las Animas Sheriff's Lt. Henry Trujillo, former Deputy Mikhail Noel, Undersheriff Rey Santistevan, Sheriff Derek Navarette...

I detect a common denominator here.

44 posted on 03/09/2024 11:03:36 AM PST by Albion Wilde (Either ‘the Deep State destroys America, or we destroy the Deep State.’ --Donald Trump)
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To: TStro

“...deputies allegedly tased 35 times in 2022 for $1.5 million.”

Sounds as if they were well paid for tasing him.


45 posted on 03/09/2024 11:40:14 AM PST by DPMD (ua)
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To: CFW

Correct. Under the constitution the cop must provide reasonable articulable suspicion that you committed a crime. If they don’t, you are under no compulsion to cooperate.

And always record every interaction with police.


46 posted on 03/09/2024 11:53:43 AM PST by cyclotic (Don’t be part of the problem. Be the entire problem)
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To: CFW

The settlement should have came out of the Sheriff’s Operating Budget. or out of the Deputies Retirement Fund. Instead of being paid by the taxpayers.


47 posted on 03/09/2024 12:03:43 PM PST by sport
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To: Bshaw
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.

Likewise, especially with leftists granting badges to non-citizens.

That video you linked should also have resulted in firings & settlement for the driver.

48 posted on 03/09/2024 3:56:07 PM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: Thank You Rush

“What on earth was he looking for and what gave him that right?”

The cars were towed by the LEO’s agency. An inventory of the car’s contents has to be written by the arresting LEO.

I actually don’t see much wrong with what happened. In concern that the 2nd car was “allied” with the 1st car, that driver was directed to depart. Defiant of the order to leave—and posing a threat—he was arrested. This is what happens when someone mouths-off while interfering with a legal traffic stop.

Personally, when the third vehicle showed up, I would have told driver #1 to leave and tear up the ticket. Vehicle #2 could have also left, and no increase in a threat level to officers would’ve happened.


49 posted on 03/09/2024 6:58:35 PM PST by Does so ( 🇺🇦...Motels for Migrants give legitimate addresses for mail-in ballots.)
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To: Does so

“”The cars were towed by the LEO’s agency. An inventory of the car’s contents has to be written by the arresting LEO.””

From what I saw - and have to admit I couldn’t stand watching it to the end - searching the father’s car was a far cry from having any tow trucks arriving at the scene. There appeared to be at least 3 if not 4 different officers at the scene, probably a higher ranked one was called in to see what the problem was?

Questions: Why were car(s) towed away and whose - the son’s and the father’s?

And WHY? Where were the drivers?

By Vehicle #1, you mean the son who didn’t have or couldn’t find registration and or insurance?

Vehicle #2 being the father?

With your summation, I would agree..easy to say but that would certainly have deescalated the incident.

Your manner of reply suggests experience in that field and thanks for your reply..even tho’ I don’t have the answers...Hate to watch that video again - next time to the end - but I’m still curious.


50 posted on 03/10/2024 8:33:17 AM PDT by Thank You Rush
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To: cdcdawg
This is the only thing that has any teeth: 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law.

The potential punishment? - shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

People need to stop going for the money.

51 posted on 03/10/2024 8:47:55 PM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: Thank You Rush

Cars are normally towed when a driver is arrested—often in conjunction with contraband found in the car.

The son’s car (#1) could have been someone else’s carjacked vehicle. The arrival of the father’s car (#2) tended to escalate dire circumstances for a sole officer—which is likely why #2 was directed to depart the scene. Mouthing-off turned a minor confrontation into a major one.

One of the other arriving officers seemed to be of higher rank, and commanded the Tasing scene. Nothing untoward appeared, except heavily-jacketed overweight men don’t fit very well through the rear doors of Las Animas County vehicles.

Yes, I do have experience with traffic stops, having been assigned to Miami CSI as a Deputy Sheriff; however, this was before the Taser was invented!

BTW 1: My most expensive “lifetime” ticket was on an empty Interstate at Trinidad, Las Animas County—not far from this incident—and have never returned there.

My first introduction to brown-versus-white racism? (Note the preponderance of Latinx names). With “migration” this can only worsen.

BTW 2) Officers who are state-qualified to use Tasers are subjected to those same shocks during training for Taser qualifications.


52 posted on 03/11/2024 3:28:45 AM PDT by Does so ( 🇺🇦...Motels for Migrants give legitimate addresses for mail-in votes.)
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To: wastedyears

“People need to stop going for the money.”

What???

And have starving lawyers?


53 posted on 03/11/2024 3:33:04 AM PDT by Does so ( 🇺🇦...Motels for Migrants give legitimate addresses for mail-in votes.)
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To: Does so

FTA:

“Colorado has settled a lawsuit with a 71-year-old man who deputies allegedly tased 35 times in 2022 for $1.5 million”.

Thirty-five (35) times in 2022? More than two per month?

That’s a great-many incidents!

Where are the proof-readers?

That is, unless the lawyer “team” had counted the number of “zaps” in slo-mo. That’s about two-second’s worth of pain.

(More than half to the lawyer “team”).


54 posted on 03/11/2024 3:46:26 AM PDT by Does so ( 🇺🇦...Motels for Migrants give legitimate addresses for mail-in votes.)
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To: CFW

Seems like the acronym FAFO applies here to Mr. Espinoza.

Was it worth mouthing off, getting tazed 35 times and collecting 1.5M?

And the cops doing FAFO? They just only lost their jobs.


55 posted on 03/11/2024 7:55:16 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (A truth that’s told with bad intent, Beats all the lies you can invent ~ Wm. Blake)
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To: Does so

Thanks for that....When I saw Trinidad, I figured there would be a native of Trinidad appearing in the video. HA - spoke fluent English and probably TOO MUCH English. I would have preferred it if he’d switched to a foreign language.

I had to google to see if there was a town of that name in CO. Because it was a local report, the name would be familiar to those residing there but not for others across the nation.

I couldn’t understand what the son said to the first officer when the officer barked about not being told how to do his job. Immediately set the tone for the whole scene..

A “lifetime” ticket sounds like a story in itself. I’m sure one quite interesting.

Stay safe.....


56 posted on 03/11/2024 8:15:43 AM PDT by Thank You Rush
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To: Responsibility2nd

How does cop boot polish taste?


57 posted on 03/11/2024 8:43:22 AM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: Does so

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-deputies-fired-over-tasing-father-35-times/

Interesting...seems the Lt. has several domestic issues/charges and other incidents involving the law. If he was one of the loud mouths at the father’s vehicle, I can believe it. Everyone he worked with would know he could get out of control!

Scary for a wife and assuming kids living with a temper like that.

They can’t figure out HOW/WHY he was hired for the job...warm body?


58 posted on 03/11/2024 8:45:03 AM PDT by Thank You Rush
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To: wastedyears

Read what I wrote again. Or have someone read it to you.

I in no way defended the cops.


59 posted on 03/11/2024 9:37:26 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (A truth that’s told with bad intent, Beats all the lies you can invent ~ Wm. Blake)
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To: Responsibility2nd

“Was it worth mouthing off, getting tazed 35 times and collecting 1.5M?”

Again, when a Taser’s trigger is pulled, the Taser will pulse until the trigger is released. A TWO-SECOND PULL of the trigger can result in 35 pulses of shocks. (Shocks I would approximate with those of an automobile engine coil—with which I have years-long familiarity).

;)

The citizens of Las Animas County were hoodwinked into paying lawyers a lot of their money.


60 posted on 03/11/2024 6:23:48 PM PDT by Does so ( 🇺🇦...Motels for Migrants give legitimate addresses for mail-in votes.)
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