Man accusing Las Animas County Sheriff Deputies of excessive force announces federal lawsuit

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- The lawyers of Kenneth Espinoza, a man who is accusing the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office (LACSO) of using excessive force after his son Nathaniel Espinoza was pulled over, is announcing they are filing a federal lawsuit against the Las Animas County and the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Department (LACSD). 

Nathaniel Espinoza will join his father’s attorney, Kevin Mehr, to announce the federal lawsuit for the November 2022 incident.

The announcement is expected to take place Tuesday, May 2, at 10 a.m. in front of the Alred A. Arraj United States Courthouse.

According to Espinoza’s lawyers, on November 29, 2022, Kenneth Espinoza was driving behind his son in Trinidad when his son got pulled over by Deputy Mikhail Noel. 

Kenneth Espinoza also stopped and that’s when lawyers say the situation escalated. 

Espinoza’s lawyers say Kenneth was tased 35 times during the incident and said there was “absolutely no justification for any other deputies’ actions.” 

While Kenneth Espinoza was charged with resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer, as a result of the incident, all of those charges were dismissed.

However, the LACSO refutes the claims levied by Espinoza and his lawyer and the department claims Espinoza was only tased once and was never hit by deputies.

Tuesday's news conference will feature remarks from Kenneth Espinoza’s son, Nathaniel Espinoza, who was present and witnessed the incident.