AURORA | A former Aurora police officer accused of strangling, pistol-whipping and repeatedly threatening to shoot an unarmed man in in Aurora two years ago is scheduled to face trial in the case beginning Friday.
Fired Aurora police officer John Haubert, 39, faces charges of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault, felony menacing, official oppression and first-degree official misconduct in connection with the arrest of 29-year-old Kyle Vinson, according court documents.
The episode garnered worldwide notice and has figured prominently in police reform efforts underway in the city.
The incident started as a trespassing call at 3138 S. Parker Road, where Haubert and Aurora Police Officer Francine Martinez, 40, detained Vinson and two other men wanted on felony warrants.
Martinez was found guilty last April of failing to intervene when her partner strangled and pistol-whipped a detained man, the first ruling of its kind following a state law making officers criminally liable for such inaction.
Former Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson was harshly critical of Haubert and Martinez, ultimately firing both officers days after the incident came to light.
“We’re disgusted,” she said at a news conference in July 2021. “We’re angry. This is not police work … We don’t train this. It’s not acceptable.”
Police body cam video of the encounter was graphic and disturbing.
As Martinez attempted to place one of the men accused of trespassing into handcuffs, he and another man freed themselves and ran away. They successfully fled the scene.
Haubert then tried to place Vinson into handcuffs, telling him to roll onto his stomach as he pressed the barrel of his pistol against the back of his head. Vinson initially complied, according to video and an account written by Aurora Police Detective Ethan Snow, who wrote the 15-page affidavit seeking a warrant for Haubert’s arrest.
“Officer Haubert continued to press his duty pistol against Mr. Vinson’s head despite Mr. Vinson’s compliance,” Snow wrote. Vinson then tried to free one of his arms from the arresting officers “while squirming his body.”
Haubert proceeded to get on top of Vinson and struck his head with his gun more than a dozen times, creating multiple gashes around his face and head. Gashes and cuts covered Vinson’s neon green shirt with blood.
Vinson has since filed a civil lawsuit against Haubert and APD, seeking damages for injury.
As the struggle continued, Haubert put his hands around Vinson’s neck for at least 39 seconds, according to the document. Haubert repeatedly threatened to shoot Vinson and told him to stop resisting, even though Snow determined: “It did not appear that Mr. Vinson had made any attempts to fight Officer Haubert.”
Through labored breathing, Vinson told Haubert “you’re killing me” and repeatedly asked the officer not to shoot him.
Throughout the encounter, Vinson repeatedly tells officers that there is no warrant for his arrest and “you have the wrong guy.”
Police officials later clarified that Vinson was wanted for felony strangulation in connection with a domestic violence incident in Denver, though he likely didn’t know there was a warrant for his arrest as it may have been tied to a probation violation.
Other officers eventually responded to the scene, and one officer shot Vinson in the leg with a stun gun. He was placed into handcuffs and medically evaluated moments later.
“Mr. Vinson stated over and over again that he can’t breathe,” Snow wrote.
When conversing with other officers who arrived as Vinson was apprehended, Haubert could be heard saying “All that blood on him is from me f****** pistol whipping him … I was wailing the f*** out of him,” according to the affidavit.
Though doctors determined that Vinson did not sustain “serious bodily injury” in the encounter, he sustained multiple cuts and bruises to his neck and face, and he received six stitches for a 2-inch gash on the left side of his head. He also incurred a large welt on his right temple.
In March of 2009, Haubert was accused of DUI, felony menacing and a misdemeanor weapons charge for being drunk with a gun, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the weapons charge in October of that year. The other charges were dismissed.
Haubert was sentenced to three months of probation, 24 hours of community service, and ordered to pay court fees in the 2009 case.
Jury selection in his trial is slated to begin Friday in Arapahoe County District Court.
Court should be interesting since the detective’s affidavit and investigation were done so poorly. It was a feather in the cap of Vanessa Wilson, the chief who declared it criminal before any real investigation was done. It fit the narrative, so the facts didn’t matter. I am not sure, as a long time police supervisor, how you ignore the contradictions in your own arrest affidavit and suppress other videos that show a completely different picture than what the detective paints. The detective says basically that the suspect (supposed victim) was no threat and offered little resistance. This is completely contradictory to what the civilian witnesses and the other responding officers said. At the same time, the detective says the suspect resisted arrest on his felony warrant after being told that he had a warrant. The detective also says in his affidavit that the suspect “swatted” at the officer’s gun twice before the officer hit him with his gun. I have been involved in thousands of arrests. No one ever swatted at my gun. There is no way to assume that a resisting felony suspect swatting at your gun is an innocent act. I guess you could if you don’t want to live. If you slow down the body cam from the officers, you can see the suspect’s hand on the officer’s gun before he gets hit. Other cameras views, never shown to anyone, even in the female officer’s trial, show a long struggle with the suspect grabbing the officer’s gun many times, before and after he is struck. There is great deal more that I won’t go into. Don’t be surprised if a jury finds that the charging of the two officers was a far greater crime than anything on the video.
“Don’t be surprised if a jury finds that the charging of the two officers was a far greater crime than anything on the video.”
Well, you can never tell with a jury, but with the right lawyer, this guy should be able to but the ex-officer away for quite a long time and possibly make a few bucks.
Regardless of the actual evidence, the public, in general, will assume that the police are at fault.
I wouldn’t depend on them for any sort of justice.
Your neighbors would hold down Grandma if they thought they could pull out her gold teeth and would be annoyed if you arrested them for it.
They are coming after you and any current police officer.
Watch your back.
He already made $830,000 from the city and is back in prison on other charges. The citizens pay the costs and the risks of not supporting the police.