This is the shocking moment a Colorado officer tasers a father in the face while handcuffed while waiting for his son, who was detained by police. Police body camera footage showed Lt. Henry Trujillo of the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office punching Kenneth Espinoza on the chin during the Nov. 29 arrest.
He then, along with other officers, pulled the suspect out of the back of his squad car and patted him down on the icy snow. Throughout the heavy-handed arrest, Trujillo and Deputy Mikhail Noel yelled and insulted Espinoza because he was slow to react to his demands.
His lawyer claims he received electric shocks 35 times during the incident, which police dispute, and criticized the officers’ actions, saying they “had no justification”. The cops first tell him to “leave now or you’ll be loaded”, before yelling at him to stop and get out of the truck.
Kenneth Espinoza Suing sheriff’s office for being tased in the face
Noel attempts to open the vehicle door but appears to struggle before pulling his gun out and pointing it at Espinoza’s face. He yells at her to ‘get out of the fucking car’ and tells her to put it in the parking lot or it’s ‘going to catch fire’.
The suspect then complies and is dragged out of the truck, handcuffed, and thrown into the back of the squad car, where officers struggle to get him inside. Trujillo then hits him on the chin, which he later admits to on footage, while another appears to shoot him in the leg.
Espinoza is left roasting in the back of the police car as the officers discuss what to do next, before turning back to him and asking for his date of birth. He refuses to give them the information, so the three policemen pull him out of the car and drag him back through the snow to look for his identification.
Throughout the ordeal, Espinoza’s young son can be seen watching in horror as his father is arrested. Espinoza was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, but they were later fired.
His lawyer Kevin Mehr said: ‘Kenneth Espinoza is lucky to be alive. These officers threw him to the ground, pinned his leg to the door of a police car, violated his most basic rights, and repeatedly electrocuted him on the body and face while his son watched helplessly.
“And after it was all over, they charged him with crimes they knew he didn’t commit and failed to inform the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.”
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The Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office said: ‘Regarding the events that occurred on November 29, 2022, this case was forwarded to the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the filing of criminal charges against Mr. Kenneth Espinoza after his arrest.
“Based on this being an active investigation and pending DA review and filing of official charges, an internal review was pending the DA’s disposition of the case. ‘Today, April 24, 2023, the District Attorney officially informed me that no charges have been filed against Mr. Espinoza, and the case has been dismissed.
‘The District Attorney acknowledges that there was a delay in informing our office of his decision not to press charges in this matter.
‘As a result, this will be administratively forwarded to our office for review. I will seek the assistance of an outside agency to review the actions of my deputies during this incident in November 2022.’ He added that both officers were still on active duty.
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