CORRECTS TO ARRESTED, INSTEAD OF CHARGED This undated photo provided by the Aurora Police Department shows Colorado police officer John Haubert who was arrested after he allegedly beat a man with his pistol, choked him and threatened to kill him while attempting an arrest on Friday, July 23, 2021. Haubert faces charges of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault and felony menacing for the violent arrest, The Denver Post reported. (Aurora Police Department via AP) 
EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT In this Friday, July 23, 2021, video image released by the Aurora Police Department shows police body camera footage of Aurora police officer using his pistol to beat a man he was trying to take into custody, choking him and threatening to kill him in Aurora, Colo.The Associated Press is not naming the man. He did not suffer serious injury but was taken to a hospital for welts and a cut on his head that required six stitches, police said. Authorities didn’t say if he will face charges for an outstanding warrant on a probation violation. It is not clear what race or ethnicity he identifies as, but he appears in the video to be a person of color. (Aurora Police Department via AP) 
Kyle Vinson, left, stands with his attorney, Qusair Mohamedbhai, on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Denver. Aurora Officer John Haubert was arrested Monday on suspicion of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault and felony menacing charges following a criminal investigation into the arrest last week of Vinson, who is biracial and identifies as Black. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENVER | A Black man who was pistol-whipped and choked by an Aurora police officer said Wednesday that he feared for his life during the violent confrontation that led to assault charges against the officer and later his resignation.
In an interview, Kyle Vinson said he was afraid of dying when Officer John Haubert of the embattled Aurora Police Department held a gun to the back of his head and pointed it at his chest while arresting him on July 23 for a probation violation. The run-in was captured on Haubert’s body-worn camera.
The arrest July 23 stirred new anger over a Police Department plagued by allegations of misconduct in recent years, including the 2019 death of Elijah McClain and incidents involving other people of color.
Vinson is a homeless Army veteran who said he 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.
“Just little things like that, you’re just thinking, ‘Oh, this is it. This is my time to go, right now,'” he said.
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, a Black man stopped on the street by Aurora police in 2019 and put into a neckhold.
“If someone was even not compliant just a little bit, they could have lost their life,” he said.
Haubert’s lawyer has vowed to zealously defend him but did not respond to a telephone call seeking comment Wednesday.
A week and a half after the arrest, Vinson said he still is in pain from his injuries, the worst of which is in his chest from being poked with the gun’s barrel. He said he also suffers headaches and back pain and got six stitches for a cut on his head.
Haubert and another officer had been sent to investigate a trespassing report when they encountered Vinson and two other people who had outstanding felony warrants, according to court documents. The two others ran away.
Haubert is accused of grabbing the back of the Vinson’s neck, pressing a gun against his head, then striking his head with the pistol at least seven times while ordering him to lie on his stomach, according to an arrest affidavit.
“You’re killing me,” Vinson cried as Haubert held him down and struck him, according to the video released by Police Chief Vanessa Wilson following the officers’ arrests. She called it a “very despicable act” and apologized, saying it was an “anomaly.”
The second officer is accused of not intervening as required under a police accountability law passed last summer amid nationwide racial injustice protests.
The law also makes it easier to file lawsuits against police officers over misconduct allegations. One of Vinson’s lawyers, Qusair Mohamedbhai, who represents McClain’s mother in a lawsuit against Aurora, said a lawsuit was being considered in Vinson’s case.
Hmm, I want to confirm I think police officer was an idiotic turd.
But I am curious as to the felony warrants for victim, I also am somewhat chagrined with the highly staged photo of victim and his lawyer against George Floyd mural. It reeks of the usual lawsuit demanding millions of dollars for the victim of which the kind and charismatic lawyer will receive 1/3.
Let us be clear, Vinson was in no way compliant. Slow the video down and watch as he tries to get up to run with the other two who are also wanted on warrants. Watch as he forcibly pulls his arm away from the other officer who has already told him that he has a warrant. Watch as he forcibly turns over to face the officers to struggle after having a gun to his head and being told to put his arms out. Listen as Officer Haubert tells him repeatedly to quit fighting and to roll onto his stomach. Verbally acting like you are afraid while fighting the officers tells a different story. Grabbing at the officer’s gun and ignoring warnings that you will be shot are not actions of someone who is afraid and compliant. The officer repeatedly tells him to quit fighting and Vinson does not. An officer with a gun in his hand only has a few options when he is already hands on with a suspect. Watch as Vinson stands up with the officers trying to hold him down. Why does one of the other responding officers tase Vinson if he is compliant. What about witnesses who say Vinson was resisting. You have to look at the psychology involved here. You have to look at the lack of training. Officer Haubert did not just pick out some black man to assault. He was called there on a complaint and then had to deal with three suspects who were already wanted. He had to deal with suspects who chose to run and to resist right away. His partner did very little that was effective in helping to control Vinson who was resisting arrest. Training? Things were moving very fast. There is far more to this than the simple tearful situation Chief Wilson claims. Chief Wilson has guaranteed that a criminal will make money and the public will be inflamed when two of her officers were simply trying to do their jobs. Could the officers have done better? Probably. What did Chief Wilson train? Chief Wilson could have done a lot better in her crowd control efforts this last year or so. I wanted to scream “That is not what we trained”. For a Chief to immediately blurt out a judgment without a careful examination of the facts is irresponsible but politically pleasing to an uninformed public. I expect a Chief to be a calm professional who has been in the trenches and has made his/her officers constantly receive training to handle use of force. A tearful, apologetic Chief who only talks about deescalation training while doing little to actually train her officers is not what I want as a Chief. As a community, we have to decide to give our officers a fair shot and to support them. If you cannot face reality and listen to all sides of the argument, then learn to accept the chaos that is coming.
If you watch the video in slow motion you will hear Vinson say that he can’t go to jail. He never intended nor did he try to comply. He struggles mightily during the whole process. Your mouth can be saying one thing while your body says something else. A lesson to all. criminals. keep fighting while yelling you can’t breathe or you are killing me and you will make a lot of money. Several witnesses to the event said that Vinson fought the entire time.