Colorado Police Officer Arrested On Assault Charges For Violently Arresting Black Man Resigns
According to Newsweek, Police Officer John Haubert has resigned from his position with the Aurora Police Department as of Thursday.
Haubert had been arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and felony menacing charges for allegedly beating Kyle Vinson, a biracial man who identifies as Black. Another officer is accused of not intervening to try to stop him, the Associated Press reports.
Haubert and other officers found Vinson while responding to a trespassing report Friday (July 23). In the body camera footage, Haubert allegedly held his pistol to Vinson’s head, struck him with it, choked him, and threatened to shoot him.
At one point, while Haubert reportedly held him down, Vinson cried, “You’re killing me,” as he gasped for air.
“If you move, I will shoot you,” Haubert responded.
On Tuesday (July 27), Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson put the officers who stopped Vinson on leave and denounced Vinson’s treatment as a “very despicable act.” She also called Vinson’s case an “anomaly” and asked the public not to paint the department “with a broad brush.”
The video has reignited anger over policing in the community, with activists saying that the footage is the latest example of the mistreatment of people of color. The activists referenced multiple allegations of misconduct against the Aurora police department, including the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.
The Aurora Police Department also came under fire after an incident where a group of Black women, including four girls between the ages of 6 and 17, were allegedly handcuffed and held at gunpoint in a nail salon parking lot.
Lindsay Minter, a high school track coach and member of the city’s police task force, told AP, “This isn’t about just Elijah or just about Kyle. This is about the community at whole. When I talk to the kids that I coach, they’re always like ‘If you come into Aurora, you leave on probation.’ Period. They don’t feel safe.”
