Student who was tased gets $1.3M
State District Court approved settlement last month, but amount was not made public then
Rio Arriba County and Española Public Schools have agreed to pay about $1.3 million to a special-education student who was tased multiple times by a sheriff ’s deputy in May at Española Valley High School.
The New Mexican reported last month that the state District Court in Santa Fe approved a settlement to resolve a lawsuit filed against the county by the mother of the boy, who is now 16, and that the agreement calls for the money to be “paid out conservatively” to the boy over time.
But the amount of the settlement was not made public then because District Judge Francis Mathew ordered the parties in the case not to discuss the dollar figure or the boy’s medical issues at the hearing after his attorney, Shannon Kennedy, asked that the hearing be closed to protect the boy’s privacy.
Kennedy said in a news release that she has since been authorized by the child’s mother to reveal the settlement amount. “The court approved the settlement on the advice of the court appointed guardian ad [litem], who has ensured proceeds of the settlement benefit only the boy and assist him to overcome the trauma that resulted from [former deputy] Jeremy Barnes’ betrayal of his authority and the boy’s trust,” Kennedy wrote in her statement.
“The boy and his family are grateful for the resources to remedy the harms and losses caused by Officer Barnes’ actions,” Kennedy wrote. “They would like both the public and student resource officers to appreciate that harm is
massive and the losses enduring. We are all better served when students respect authority, not fear or revile it.”
Resource officers are armed law enforcement officers who work on school campuses.
“In the wake of the incident, Española Public Schools now requires student resource officers to complete training specific to disabilities and adolescent psychology within their first semester on the job,” Kennedy added in the statement.
Española Public Schools Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez did not respond to calls seeking comment for this story.
Rio Arriba County Manager Tomas Campos declined to comment Monday.
A spokesman for the Rio Arriba County Sheriff ’s Office, Lt. Lorenzo Aguilar, said the agency used to have a contract with the district to have a deputy stationed in the middle and high schools and to staff
at all sporting events and other major happenings, but the Española Police Department now holds that contract.
The tasing incident, which drew widespread criticism after the deputy’s body camera video of it was made public, in part prompted legislation that calls for special training for officers who work on public school and university campuses. House Bill 184, which also provides funding for such training through the state’s Law Enforcement Protection Fund, passed the House on a vote of 62-1 and received a unanimous vote in the Senate on Feb. 20, the last day of the legislative session.
A criminal case against Barnes and a separate civil case against the Rio Arriba County Sheriff ’s Office, Sheriff James Lujan and Barnes are pending.
The state Attorney General’s Office charged Barnes with child abuse, false imprisonment, aggravated battery and violation of ethical principals of public service. Barnes’ video showed the deputy entering a room at Española Valley High School where school security staff were questioning the boy, who had been detained on suspicion of drug activity. The boy had refused to be searched.
The deputy threatened to handcuff the boy and then ordered him to stand up. He asked the student, “Are you going to be cooperative or uncooperative?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” the boy answered, before calling the deputy a derogatory name.
Barnes and a security guard then grabbed the boy and a brief struggle ensued, the video showed.
“I’m going to [expletive] tase you,” Barnes said, and then immediately fired the device into the boy’s chest at close range, sending him to the floor, face down. The security guard placed his knee on the back of the boy’s neck. Barnes administered two additional shocks as the boy lay screaming on the floor.
Barnes could not be reached for comment Monday. Barnes had been hired by Rio Arriba County in October 2018 after a three-year absence from law enforcement. His history with police departments in Grants and Clayton included accusations of aggressive behavior.