John Haubert and Francine Martinez, two police officers in Aurora, Colorado, are facing criminal charges for violently arresting, strangling and beating up an unresisting and unarmed Black man, The New York Times reported. Body camera footage shows how the incident unfolded when the two officers responded to a trespassing call on Friday.

The officers first spotted three men sitting on the ground near some bicycles and ran their names through state and national databases, discovering all three had outstanding warrants. According to CPR, two of the men fled while the officers tried to handcuff Kyle Vincent, who remained sitting.

Haubert proceeded to violently arrest Vincent, striking him several times in the head with his weapon and with his hands. The officer also attempted to strangle the Aurora man as blood was spilling from his face and head.

“Don’t shoot me, bro,” Vincent said in the midst of the chaos. “You’re killing me!”

Haubert ordered Vincent to roll over on his stomach and show his hands, which he did. The distraught Colorado man also begged for water while being attacked, ABC 13 reported. He was later taken to a hospital for welts and a cut on his head that required six stitches.

Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said “the video will strike your conscience."

“I know as I watched it I felt myself welling up with tears as well as anger,” the chief said.

Wilson adds that Vincent was arrested for an outstanding warrant from Denver County, but he may have been unaware that it existed. While Haubert faces five criminal charges, including felony assault and felony menacing, Martinez faces two misdemeanor charges for failure to report use of force and failure to intervene during the misconduct.

Aurora's police Department has been plagued by a series of allegations of misconduct in recent years. That includes the case of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died in 2019 after he was choked by police, as Blavity previously reported.

Wilson said she quickly put the officers on leave after the latest incident and released the body camera footage. Colorado took a step forward last by passing a bill that requires all officers to use body cameras by July 2023. The measure also bans chokeholds, limits potentially lethal uses of force and removes qualified immunity from police.

John Haubert

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