Aurora Cop Convicted for Failing to Intervene as a White Cop Pistol Whipped, Strangled and Tried to Kill a Defenseless Black Man who Begged for His Life During an Alleged Trespass Arrest
/
From [HERE] An Arapahoe County jury has convicted former Aurora police officer Francine Martinez for failing to intervene in excessive force used by another officer on July 23, 2021.
Body camera footage captured former officer John Haubert choking and beating Kyle Vinson, then 29, in the head with his gun while threatening to kill him.
The officers had responded to a trespassing call on South Parker Road. Two other people ran away, while Vinson stayed at the scene. It turned out Vinson had an active warrant for an unrelated incident. He was not armed.
Footage from Haubert's body-worn camera shows Vinson gasping for air and struggling to speak. Near the beginning of the footage, as Vinson lies on his back, Haubert orders Vinson to get on his stomach while Vinson repeatedly asks, "What did I do?"
Haubert tells him he has an active warrant, the video shows.
Haubert tells Vinson several times to "stop fighting," though Vinson does not appear to be resisting at that point. Haubert also presses his gun up against Vinson's head.
On the footage, 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 state. Haubert also said blood on the man was from "pistol-whipping him."
White officers John Haubert and Francine Martinez responded to a call alleging three Black men were trespassing, which is a minor misdemeanor. After officers arrived at the scene, two of the men fled the scene, leaving Kyle Vinson alone. Apparently angry, the white cop decided to arrest Vinson.
The video begins with the white cop pressing his automatic weapon onto the Black man’s head, threatening his life. Vinson says ‘you have the wrong guy, I don’t have any warrants’ and asks ‘why are you arresting me.’ The Black man is visibly shaking and appears to be no threat to the police officers.
During the video the Black man repeatedly begs the officer to stop hitting him and yells "You're killing me," as Aurora police Officer John Haubert holds him down, strangles him and strikes him, the video shows.
If you move, I will shoot you," the white cop continually yells making felony threats against the man. While straggling him the officer says repeatedly "Stop fighting," as the man cries and gasps for air. Then the disfluent cop starts yelling over and over “GET ON YOUR FACE.” Vinson shows his hands surrendering and attempts to comply. Vinson was defenseless and during the attack was crying.
"I need water," Vinson yells as the body camera footage comes to an end. His head is bleeding in multiple areas and there are lumps and contusions on his face. He was hospitalized after he was arrested on suspicion of trespassing.
Colorado's legislature created the failure to intervene charge for law enforcement officers in 2020. That law also that mandated data collection by agencies on officers' interactions with civilians and expanded requirements for when officers have to turn on their body cameras. It also requires revocation of an officer's state certification if they plead guilty or are convicted of excessive force or failing to intervene.
Martinez' conviction means Colorado's Peace Officer Standards and Training board must permanently decertify her, and she can't work as a law enforcement officer in Colorado again.
“Officers have a duty to intervene in situations like this,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Sugioka in a statement Friday following the trial. “Officer Martinez failed to do anything to de-escalate the situation and stop the assault.”
Martinez' sentencing is scheduled for June 2.
