Video showing a Colorado cop beating, strangling, and threatening a man he was attempting to take into custody recently led to his arrest, while another officer is accused of not stopping her colleague in compliance with a new accountability law passed during racial justice protests last year.
On Tuesday, body camera footage was released of an arrest in the Denver suburb of Aurora, whose police have faced allegations of misconduct in recent years, including the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who was put in a neck hold.
As officers responded to a report of trespassing, the man repeatedly yelled, “You’re killing me bro,” as Aurora Officer John Haubert held him down and struck him in the face repeatedly with his firearm, the video shows.
“If you move, I will shoot you,” Haubert said. The officer says repeatedly, “Stop fighting,” as the man cries and gasps for air.
Video shows Haubert yelling at him to roll over on his stomach and show his hands, which he does.
“I need water,” the man cried as the video ends.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson called the arrest a “very despicable act”.
“We’re disgusted. We’re angry,” said Wilson, who took over the department last year. “This is not police work. We don’t train this.”
An arrest warrant affidavit alleges that Haubert is under investigation for attempted first-degree assault, attempted second-degree assault, and felony menacing.
