A former Colorado police officer who was caught on bodycam footage choking, pistol-whipping, and threatening to kill a Black man in 2021 was acquitted of the charges he faced in connection to the incident.
John Haubert was found not guilty of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and felony menacing, as well as two misdemeanor charges — official oppression and official misconduct.
A jury delivered that verdict last Thursday following a nine-day trial.
The charges stemmed from the violent arrest of Kyle Vinson on July 23, 2021, in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
That day, Haubert and his then-partner Francine Martinez responded to a trespassing complaint at a shopping center. They encountered three men in the parking lot, all of whom reportedly had warrants for their arrests. Two of the men fled the scene after Martinez tried to detain one of them. Vinson was the only one who stayed.
Bodycam footage shows Vinson following police orders to get on his stomach and put his hands out. Vinson is heard saying that he had not done anything wrong and that there was no warrant for his arrest. Police reported he did have a warrant for a probation violation.
Haubert then struck Vinson in the head about a dozen times with the butt of his pistol before telling Vinson to roll over on his back. While Vinson is crying out, Haubert is heard telling him, “If you move, I will shoot you,” before wrapping his hand around Vinson’s neck for 39 seconds.
Vinson begged Haubert not to shoot him. When backup arrived, another officer used his Taser on Vinson. He was handcuffed and taken to a hospital. The head wounds he suffered required six stitches.
According to an arrest affidavit, Haubert told other officers at the scene: “All that blood on him is from me f–king pistol whipping him. … I was whaling the f–k out of him.”
Four days later, Haubert was arrested. He quit the Aurora police force shortly after his arrest. Then-police chief, Vanessa Wilson, vowed to try to restore trust, calling the handling of Vinson’s arrest a “very despicable act.”
Haubert’s defense attorneys argued in court that force was necessary to subdue Vinson and Haubert had every right to use his gun as a baton after claiming Vinson tried to grab his firearm.
The defense showed a still photo from bodycam footage that showed three of Vinson’s fingers touching Haubert’s gun, but Vinson testified he was never trying to grab it. Prosecutors also denied those claims.
Defense attorney Kristen Frost argued Haubert had to act quickly to ensure Vinson didn’t get away after the two other men fled. He was also unsure if they were armed. She also claimed that Haubert did not choke Vinson, saying he had his hand on his neck, but never wrapped his fingers around it.
Vinson said that he initially wasn’t going to testify in court. He told the court he did his best to comply with police orders, noting the deaths of George Floyd and Elijah McClain.
“I don’t like reliving it a lot. Usually I feel like people who are in this situation, with police brutality, are dead,” Vinson testified. “If someone was even not compliant just a little bit, they could have lost their life.”
He’s serving a prison sentence in connection to a separate case.
Frost told The Denver Gazette that her team “has always known that John Haubert was innocent.” She stated the jury made a verdict “based on what we always knew” and is “thrilled that Haubert and his family can now move on.”
District Attorney John Kellner said his office was “disappointed in the verdict,” but that he and his team “respect the jury’s decision.”
While Haubert was cleared of wrongdoing, his former partner Francine Martinez was found guilty of failing to intervene in Vinson’s arrest. A jury convicted her last year and ruled that she didn’t stop Haubert from beating Vinson. Martinez was sentenced to six months of house arrest.
Haubert’s acquittal comes just months after another former Aurora cop and two paramedics were convicted for their roles in Elijah McClain’s death. McClain was put in a neck hold by police in 2019. After being rendered unconscious, medics injected ketamine into his bloodstream. He went into cardiac arrest and died days later.
