The trial of former Aurora police officer John Haubert began with prosecutor Jade Hoisington accusing him of using excessive and unreasonable force during the 2021 arrest of a Black man, Kyle Vinson. Hoisington played body camera footage showing Haubert pointing his gun at Vinson’s head, hitting him with the gun, and strangling him for 39 seconds. Photos presented in court showed welts on Vinson’s head, indicating the violence of the encounter. Haubert’s defense attorney, Kristen Frost, argued that Haubert was justified in his actions because Vinson allegedly tried to grab his gun, a claim that prosecutors denied.
Vinson, who had a warrant for his arrest, maintained a defensive stance during the encounter and put his hands up to protect himself from Haubert’s gun, according to Hoisington. Frost countered by saying that Haubert was not strangling Vinson but merely restraining him with his hand. Haubert, who resigned after being charged, pleaded not guilty to assault and other charges. His trial comes after the convictions of a police officer and two paramedics in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neckhold by police and injected with ketamine by paramedics.
The arrest of Kyle Vinson in July 2021 reignited anger about police misconduct in Aurora. Former Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, who had pledged to restore trust in the department, described Haubert’s actions as a “very despicable act” and announced his arrest four days later. Vinson was taken to a hospital for treatment of the welts and a cut on his head that required stitches. Body camera footage of the incident shows Vinson and two other men sitting under some trees in a parking lot after police responded to a report of trespassing. While two men were able to escape police, Vinson complied with orders to get on his stomach and put his hands out, despite protesting that he had done nothing wrong and police did not have a warrant.
In a 2021 interview with The Associated Press, Vinson, a homeless Army veteran, described trying to comply with the officers’ orders and control his emotions during the arrest. He expressed thoughts of never seeing his brother, friends, or engaging in everyday activities again during the violent encounter with Haubert. Vinson highlighted the fear of non-compliance potentially leading to loss of life, referencing the deaths of George Floyd and Elijah McClain. Another former officer, Francine Martinez, was found guilty of failing to intervene to stop Haubert, a misdemeanor offense under a police reform law passed in Colorado after Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis in 2020. Martinez was sentenced to six months of house arrest for her role in the incident.
