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John Haubert, a former Aurora officer, is charged with multiple counts including assault and official misconduct related to the 2021 incident arrest.
AURORA, Colo. — Following more than a week of testimony an Arapahoe County jury is now deciding whether to convict a former Aurora officer who was seen in body-worn camera footage repeatedly hitting a man with his gun.
John Haubert, who resigned after being charged, has pleaded not guilty to assault and other charges related to the 2021 violent arrest. During opening statements on April 2, prosecutors said that he used excessive and unreasonable force while arresting Kyle Vinson on July 23, 2021, after responding to a trespassing call in the 3100 block of South Parker Road.
>The video above aired when Haubert’s trial started.
“You can see the fear on his face,” prosecutor Jade Hoisington told jurors after playing body camera footage showing the violent arrest of Vinson. She also showed photos of welts on Vinson’s head.
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One of Haubert’s lawyers, Kristen Frost, said Haubert had the right to use his gun like he would use a baton against Vinson because Vinson tried to grab Haubert’s gun — an act that prosecutors denied. Haubert would have been justified in shooting Vinson, she said.
Hoisington said Vinson, who had a warrant for his arrest, remained in a defensive stance during the encounter and put his hands up to try to protect himself from Haubert’s gun.
Prosecutors contend the video shows Haubert strangling Vinson for nearly 40 seconds. Haubert’s defense admitted he had his fingers wrapped around Vinson’s neck but said he was only using his hand to restrain Vinson, not strangle him.
The trial wrapped up late Wednesday with closing arguments. Jurors will return at 8:30 a.m. Thursday for deliberations.
Another former officer, Francine Martinez, was found guilty of failing to intervene to stop Haubert, a misdemeanor crime created by state lawmakers as part of a police reform law passed shortly after the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020. She was sentenced to six months of house arrest.
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