Kenneth Espinoza Tasing Case: $1.5M Settlement and Guilty Pleas

The Kenneth Espinoza tasing case ended with a $1.5 million civil settlement from Las Animas County in March 2024 and guilty pleas from both former deputies in December 2024. Espinoza, a Colorado man, was repeatedly tased by two sheriff’s deputies during a November 2022 traffic stop that he was not the subject of. Body camera footage of the encounter led to the deputies’ firing, the civil payout, and criminal charges that were later resolved through plea deals to reduced counts.

What Happened During the Traffic Stop

On November 29, 2022, Espinoza, then 48, was following his 23-year-old son Nathaniel from Trinidad to Walsenburg, Colorado, to get a car repaired. Deputy Mikhail Noel pulled Nathaniel over for an alleged traffic violation. Espinoza parked his truck roughly 75 feet behind the stop.

Deputy Noel and Lt. Henry Trujillo ordered Espinoza to leave, and an argument followed over whether he could stay. As he began pulling away, the deputies reversed course and ordered him out of the vehicle. Both drew their weapons. Noel pointed a gun at Espinoza’s face while Trujillo approached with a raised Taser.¹

The deputies then pulled Espinoza from the truck, handcuffed him, and tased him repeatedly. According to the federal lawsuit later filed on his behalf, Noel used “drive-stun” mode on Espinoza roughly 15 times while he was still in the truck, jabbing the device into his body. After Espinoza was removed and handcuffed, he was shocked additional times. Body camera footage showed a Taser barb striking him in the lip and another hitting his chest as deputies tried to place him in a patrol car.¹ His attorney, Kevin Mehr, alleged Espinoza was tased a total of 35 times.²

Espinoza suffered burns and a wound to his mouth, and spent one day in jail. The 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against him on December 6, 2022, one week after the incident, dropping counts that had included resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer.³

What the Outside Investigation Found

The Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office initially maintained that Espinoza was shocked only once, that Trujillo never unholstered his sidearm, and that officers did not strike him.¹ A third-party investigation by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, laid out in a 65-page report, reached different conclusions.

The Pueblo County investigators found that Espinoza broke no laws by pulling over near the traffic stop, that he was not resisting when he was tased, and that both deputies made false claims about the incident in their official reports.⁴ The report documented three official Taser deployments across the deputies’ devices, one by Trujillo and two by Noel, a figure that remained in dispute with the 35 activations alleged by Espinoza’s attorney.³

The investigation also documented a supervisory failure. Undersheriff Reynaldo Santistevan admitted he had approved the deputies’ use-of-force report without reviewing the body camera footage or reading the report itself, and said he should have placed both deputies on administrative leave immediately.³ The report recommended firing both deputies and considering a criminal referral.⁴

Trujillo and Noel were terminated on August 25, 2023.⁵

The $1.5 Million Settlement

Espinoza, represented by Kevin Mehr of Mehr Law PLLC in Colorado Springs, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in April 2023 alleging excessive force and failure to train and discipline employees. The suit named Trujillo, Noel, Undersheriff Santistevan, Sheriff Derek Navarette, the sheriff’s office, and the Las Animas County Board of County Commissioners.¹

In March 2024, Las Animas County settled the lawsuit for $1.5 million.⁶ “If the sheriff won’t hold you accountable, we will,” Mehr said in a statement. “All eyes are now on Sheriff Navarette and his administration to see how they move forward in a way that ensures transparency.”⁷

Criminal Charges and Guilty Pleas

In April 2024, the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed five misdemeanor charges against both Trujillo and Noel: third-degree assault, peace officer failure to intervene, official misconduct, official oppression, and menacing.³ All were misdemeanors rather than felonies.

Both men resolved their cases through plea deals in December 2024. Noel pleaded guilty on December 16, 2024, to a tampering charge, and the five original misdemeanor counts were dismissed. Trujillo pleaded guilty three days later, on December 19, 2024, to official misconduct, with his remaining charges dropped.⁸

Trujillo’s Separate Road Rage Case

Trujillo was also involved in a separate incident in late June 2023, when surveillance video captured him in a physical altercation with a teenager during a road rage encounter in Trinidad. He was cited for disorderly conduct and placed on unpaid administrative leave.⁹ He later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in that case and was fined $236.¹⁰