Southern Colorado deputy charged in fight with a teen, already under investigation for separate incident

TRINIDAD, Colo. (KKTV) -A Southern Colorado deputy is now on administrative leave without pay over an alleged road rage incident involving a teen. It happened in late June in Trinidad, Colorado.

Surveillance video from the scene shows Las Animas County Lieutenant Deputy Henry Trujillo engaging in a fight with a teen on the side of the road.

This comes as Trujillo was already on paid administrative leave for a previous incident, in which Trujillo is accused of tasing a man 35 times during a traffic stop in November of 2022.

Trujillo is facing a civil suit in the tasing case.

The civil lawyer in the case, Kevin Mehr, tells 11News the citation Trujillo is now facing shows a pattern.

“He has a criminal history that dates back 1997 and it would appear it’s a bunch of cases like this,” said Kevin Mehr, an attorney with Mehr Law.

According to Mehr, on November 29, Trujillo allegedly tased a man dozens of times during a traffic stop.

The Las Animas County Sheriff told 11News the man in the video was tased only once, based on data collected from the weapon.

This spring, Trujillo was placed on administrative leave with pay while a internal investigation into the incident began.

Then, in June, arrest papers say Trujillo was caught on surveillance camera physically fighting with a teen on the side of the road.

According to arrest papers, the teen was riding a motorcycle when he passed Trujillo. The papers go on to say that they both allegedly pulled over and that Trujillo became aggressive.

“This deputy is just unable to handle stressful situations or challenges to his authority without resorting to violence,” said Mehr.

The Las Animas Sheriff’s office sent 11News this statement about the June incident.

Both Trujillo and the teen were cited for alleged disorderly conduct.

Trujillo remains employed with the Las Animas County Sheriff’s Office, but as of June 26 is on unpaid administrative leave.

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