Salida Principal’s arrest affidavit and police body camera footage sealed

SALIDA, Colo. (KRDO) -- The arrest affidavit for Salida High School Principal Talmage Trujillo is sealed along with body camera footage that allegedly shows Trujillo performing a factory reset on his phone when police served a search warrant for it Thursday.

In September 2021, Trujillo received misdemeanor charges of harboring a minor, obstructing a peace officer, and first-degree official misconduct after allegedly interfering with police during a lockdown at the school because of an aggravated student.

A student allegedly brought a gun on the Salida High School campus on September 23. According to court records, Trujillo contacted the student but was uncooperative with arriving officers. The officer told him the situation was serious and he needed to immediately tell them where he was, he told them no and then hung up. He didn't answer when officers called back, records say.

Trujillo now faces a new charge of tampering with physical evidence, a class 6 felony. According to the 11th Judicial District Attorney's Office, the records are sealed because it is an open investigation.

Nikol Noll, a parent of an eighth-grader in Salida, says Trujillo's actions are making her question sending her student to the school amid safety concerns.

"It was kind of alarming to see some of the behaviors that came out during what I would call sort of a crisis situation," Noll said.

"As a parent, we need to know that when we send our kids to school that they are safe. That they are going to come home at the end of the day," Noll said.

Noll told KRDO she does not think students have been safe at the school since the incident in September.

"The processes weren't followed. The processes that are there to keep them safe were not followed," Noll said.

The actions of district superintendent David Blackburn were also questioned on September 23. Court documents say when Blackburn arrived at the campus he told police he was taking over as the incident commander and he wanted the officers to leave. He also told them he didn't like police, records say.

"We need to be reminded that the law enforcement is there to keep our kids safe. They did show up with an intent to keep our kids safe. That was in my opinion their sole intent and I was worried that the leadership had different intentions," Noll said.

KRDO reached out to Principal Trujillo, Superintendent Blackburn, and Salida Police Chief Russel Johnson for interviews regarding both arrests. All three declined our requests.

The district says details of Trujillo's latest arrest are confidential.

Trujillo is currently on paid administrative leave.