Aurora Police Officer Charged With Felony Assault For Violent Arrest Has Resigned

The Aurora Police officer who violently arrested an unarmed Black man last week has resigned from the agency, the department says.

Body camera footage shows that officer John Haubert strangled and beat up Kyle Vinson, who was nonviolent and unarmed, while another officer stood by and didn’t try to stop the misconduct.

Vinson suffered 13 blows to the head, requiring six stitches.

Haubert, 39, faces five criminal charges including felony assault and felony menacing. He has been with APD since 2018 and was on unpaid leave pending the investigation of the incident.

The second Aurora officer, Francine Martinez, has been with APD for six years and faces two misdemeanor charges for failure to report use of force and failure to intervene during Haubert’s misconduct. As of Thursday, she had not resigned and is on paid leave.

If convicted, Haubert's police certification will be revoked and he will no longer be able to work as an officer in Colorado.

Rathod | Mohamedbhai, the Denver civil rights firm representing Vinson, said in a statement Tuesday that the "vicious, unprovoked assault" on him "illuminates the ongoing issue of police violence, particularly against communities of color."

Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said her agency began investigating after several other officers, including the deputy chief of police, arrived on the scene and suspected Haubert had used excessive force in the arrest. She said they pushed through the weekend to be able to bring charges swiftly.

“We're angry,” she said. “This is not police work. We don't train this. It's not acceptable.”

The APD is under several investigations connected to potential misconduct around Elijah McClain’s violent arrest and subsequent death in the summer of 2019.