Police Officer Responds to Trespassing Call, Pistol Whips Suspect
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Police Officer Resigns after Assaulting Suspect
(CO) – On July 23, the Aurora Police Department received a call about three men trespassing. Two police officers, John Haubert and Francine Martinez, arrived at the location. They found three men sitting on the ground. It was determined that all three had warrants. When they went to take them into custody, two of the men ran. Kyle Vinson stayed sitting on the ground.
Officer Haubert went to arrest Vinson who kept insisting he had not done anything and did not have a warrant. Officer Haubert quickly became very aggressive. Haubert shoves Vinson’s face into the dirt, places his gun directly against Mr. Vinson’s head, beats him with the pistol and chokes Mr. Vinson. Officer Martinez makes no attempt to stop the police violence.
Aurora Combating a Culture of Police Misconduct
The Aurora Police Department has been dealing with police misconduct for several years. This is the same department that killed Elijah McClain for the “crime” of walking home from the store. Their excuse? He looked suspicious. After the killing of McClain, Aurora police officers made fun of the killing.
Police Chief Vanessa Wilson was appointed in 2020. She has made a valid attempt to clean up the police department. Once in the position, she immediately terminated 14 officers for police misconduct. She also released the video evidence of the assault on Mr. Vinson and publicly apologized to him.
Criminal Investigation Conducted
Police Chief Wilson saw the video and ordered an internal affairs investigation. It was conducted along with a criminal investigation and disturbing information was discovered. Per ABC11.com,
In the video, Haubert told a sergeant after the arrest: “I was going to shoot him but I didn’t know if I had a round in it or not,” the documents say. Haubert also said blood on the man was from “pistol-whipping him.”
Haubert tells his sergeant he was going to kill Vinson but didn’t because he didn’t know if he had chambered a round. So instead, he beats Vinson on the head with the gun at least seven times, with some reports stating as much as 14 times. In the video (see links below), you can see large welts on Vinson’s head along with blood pouring from a scalp wound. The cut on Vinson’s head required six stitches.
Charges Filed Against Officers After Use of Excessive Force
Police officer John Haubert was charged with “attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault and felony menacing — as well as misdemeanor charges of official oppression and official misconduct in connection to the arrest.” According to TheDenverChannel.com, he is also facing a fourth felony of “second-degree assault with strangulation.” Prior to resigning he had been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
Police officer Francine Martinez received misdemeanor charges of failure to report use of force by a police officer and failure to intervene. She was placed on paid administrative leave.
Officer John Haubert
John Haubert is a 39-year old man who was hired by the Aurora Police Department in 2018. The investigation into the assault on Vinson turned up the information that John Haubert had a criminal history. In 2009 he was arrested for prohibited use of a gun while drunk. According to Denver.CBSLocal.com, he had “a prior arrest for pointing a shotgun at his roommate while drinking.”
This discovery has shown the Aurora Police Department that they have a problem with their hiring process. Haubert was able to get through Civil Service with the charge since it is not listed as one that would stop him from getting a peace officer’s license. But the police department would have done a background check. They would have known about the charge. This man should NEVER have been hired even if it’s not a charge that stops him from getting licensed. It goes toward character and the department has to take that into consideration since they have liability.
Bodycam Video
YouTube is not allowing the videos to play, possibly due to the violent content. You can see a news video on the arrest here, and you can see the raw footage video on the arrest here.