Current:Home > MarketsEx-officer who beat Black man with gun goes on trial in Colorado-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Ex-officer who beat Black man with gun goes on trial in Colorado
View Date:2024-12-24 10:15:04
DENVER (AP) — A Colorado police officer is set to go on trial for his actions in the 2021 arrest of a Black man, including repeatedly hitting the man with a gun after he swatted his hands at the officer’s weapon, according to body camera footage and court documents.
The violent arrest in the Denver suburb of Aurora has put the former officer, John Haubert, on trial facing assault and other charges with opening statements expected Tuesday. The trial follows the convictions last year of a police officer and two paramedics from the city’s fire department in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neckhold by police before being injected with the sedative ketamine by paramedics.
Haubert’s lawyer, Reid Elkus, did not immediately respond to a request for comment to the allegations but said at a a recent court hearing that there was a rush by police to investigate and charge Haubert. Haubert, who resigned, has pleaded not guilty.
His arrest of Kyle Vinson in July 2021 renewed anger about misconduct by the city’s police department. The department’s then-chief, Vanessa Wilson, who had vowed to try to restore trust, announced Haubert’s arrest four days later, calling the handling of Vinson’s arrest a “very despicable act.”
Haubert also held his hand around Vinson’s neck for about 39 seconds, according to Haubert’s arrest affidavit, which referred to Haubert as “strangling” Vinson.
Vinson was taken to a hospital for welts and a cut on his head that required six stitches, police said.
Vinson was with two other men sitting under some trees when police responded to a report of trespassing in a parking lot. Two of the men got away from police, but Vinson was ordered to get on his stomach and put his hands out. He complied but repeatedly protested, saying he had not done anything wrong and police did not have a warrant. Police said there was a warrant for his arrest for a probation violation.
In 2021, Vinson told The Associated Press he was a homeless Army veteran who was trying to take a break from the midday heat when police approached. When the arrest turned violent, he said he thought about never being able to see his brother or his friends, ride his bicycle or eat again.
Vinson said he tried to comply with the officers’ orders as best he could and control his emotions so he would not be killed, noting the deaths of George Floyd and McClain.
“If someone was even not compliant just a little bit, they could have lost their life,” he said.
Another former officer, Francine Martinez, was found guilty of failing to intervene to stop Haubert, a misdemeanor crime created by state lawmakers as part of a police reform law passed shortly after the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. She was sentenced to six months of house arrest.
veryGood! (147)
Related
- In an AP interview, the next Los Angeles DA says he’ll go after low-level nonviolent crimes
- Vicky Krieps on the feminist Western ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ and how she leaves behind past roles
- Sharon Osbourne calls Ashton Kutcher rudest celebrity she's met: 'Dastardly little thing'
- How to make yourself cry: An acting coach's secrets for on command emotion
- Missouri prosecutor says he won’t charge Nelly after an August drug arrest
- 7 habits to live a healthier life, inspired by the world's longest-lived communities
- Vatican holds unprecedented beatification of Polish family of 9 killed for hiding Jews
- Prominent activist’s son convicted of storming Capitol and invading Senate floor in Jan. 6 riot
- Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
- What's at stake for Texas when it travels to Alabama in Week 2 of college football
Ranking
- Human head washes ashore on Florida beach, police investigating: reports
- Jennifer Lopez, Sofia Richie and More Stars Turn Heads at Ralph Lauren's NYFW 2024 Show
- Legal fight expected after New Mexico governor suspends the right to carry guns in public
- Adam Sandler's Sweet Bond With Daughters Sadie and Sunny Is Better Than Shampoo and Conditioner
- 13 Skincare Gifts Under $50 That Are Actually Worth It
- Police fatally shoot man who was holding handgun in Idaho field
- Biden, Modi and EU to announce rail and shipping project linking India to Middle East and Europe
- The Rolling Stones set to release first new album of original music in nearly 20 years: New music, new era
Recommendation
-
Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
-
Appeals court slaps Biden administration for contact with social media companies
-
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa not worried about CTE, concussions in return
-
College football Week 2: Six blockbuster games to watch, including Texas at Alabama
-
Cleveland Browns’ Hakeem Adeniji Shares Stillbirth of Baby Boy Days Before Due Date
-
What High Heat in the Classroom Is Doing to Millions of American Children
-
Why a nonprofit theater company has made sustainability its mission
-
Hurricane Lee is charting a new course in weather and could signal more monster storms