Activists have decried what they see as the latest example of the maltreatment of people of colour.
And a video showing a police officer pistol-whipping and choking a Black man during an arrest in a Denver suburb has revived resentment about policing in the town.
On Friday, Aurora police went to a trespassing call and encountered Kyle Vinson, who is mixed and identifies as Black.
When they confronted Vinson, officer John Haubert was detained on suspicion of attempted first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and felony menacing.
Reid Elkus, Haubert’s attorney, has promised to “zealously defend” his client. The other cop is said to have done nothing to stop him.
Haubert is shown threatening to shoot Vinson, choking him, and beating him with his gun while the latter is on the ground, all captured on body camera.
On Wednesday, campaigners expressed outrage over the footage. They hope that by bringing attention to the agency.
Which has been dogged by claims of misbehaviour in recent years, including the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, that the department will be held accountable.
Exactly Why Did the Police Arrest the Black Man?
In August of 2019, McClain was stopped by local police in a city east of Denver after a 911 call reported a strange man wandering along the street.
After putting the 23-year-old Black male in a neckhold, paramedics pulled him to the ground and shot him with 500 milligrammes (0.02 ounces) of ketamine.
McClain passed away a little over a week later. After further attention was brought to the matter after the shooting of George Floyd.
Democratic Governor Jared Polis requested Attorney General Phil Weiser to reinvestigate whether anyone should be prosecuted. It has not yet been determined whether or not an investigation will be conducted.
After a misunderstanding involving a stolen car, the Police Department was also criticised last year for an incident involving four Black girls.
Not just Elijah, not just Kyle, here. Lindsay Minter, a high school track coach and member of the city’s police task team, emphasised that the issue affects the entire community.
My young athletes have a saying: “If you come into Aurora, you leave on probation.” Period. As a result, they don’t feel secure.
Conclusion
On Tuesday, Police Chief Vanessa Wilson referred to Vinson’s situation as a “anomaly” and urged the public not to “paint the department with a broad brush” because of it.
She suspended the cops and called the police’ treatment of Vinson “quite reprehensible.” Although Rathod commended her efforts to reform the police.
He held Mayor Mike Coffman responsible for failing to condemn the incident or apologise to Vinson. He demanded Coffman’s resignation.
