An Aurora police officer who killed an unarmed man used a Taser during an excessive force incident in 2021.

NORTHERN LIGHTS | Three years before he fatally shot Kilyn Lewis, Aurora police officer Michael Dieck used a Taser on a suspect during a 2021 incident that led to charges against another officer who beat the same suspect with a firearm, as well as a third officer who failed to intervene.

This Post on Wednesday received a confidential tip regarding Dieck’s involvement in the July 23, 2021 arrest of Kyle Vinson by Officers John Haubert and Francine Martinez. Vinson and two other men were sitting in the parking lot when they were confronted by Haubert and Martinez, who were responding to a trespassing call.

After learning that the three men had outstanding warrants, Martinez attempted to handcuff one of the men with Vinson. The man pulled away from Martinez, and he and the other man with Vinson fled on foot. Haubert then pushed Vinson, who remained at the scene, backward to the ground.

Despite the fact that Vinson was not running or attacking the officers, Haubert repeatedly struck Vinson in the head and face with the gun. He held Vinson by the throat as the 29-year-old cried and begged Haubert to stop, repeatedly telling Haubert, “Don’t shoot me” and “You’re killing me.”

Arrest affidavits describe and capture Dieck arriving at the scene as backup as Haubert and Martinez continue to restrain Vinson. At this point, Vinson’s face is bruised and covered in blood, and he is screaming for help as Dieck approaches.

Haubert and Martinez roll Vinson onto his side, and Dieck shoots Vinson in the leg with a stun gun. Vinson screams, and Dieck warns Vinson that if Vinson doesn’t get his hands out, “he’ll get it again.”

Vinson was eventually arrested for domestic violence. At the hospital, he was treated for head wounds inflicted by Haubert and received several stitches.

Then-Police Chief Vanessa Wilson condemned Vinson’s treatment during a news conference shortly after the incident, saying she was “disgusted” and that the actions of the officers involved “were not police work.”

Martinez was subsequently charged and found guilty of failure to intervene, the first such conviction in Colorado. Haubert was charged with assault, criminal threats and other offenses but was acquitted at trial in April.

Although Haubert and Martinez’s arrest affidavits mention Dieck’s involvement in Vinson’s arrest, Dieck was not charged with a crime.

On May 23, 2024, Dieck shot and killed Kilyn Lewis, who was unarmed and had raised his hands, one of which was holding a cellphone, after reaching into his pocket. Lewis was wanted for attempted first-degree murder, and a team of police officers confronted him in the parking lot of an Aurora apartment complex to try to arrest him.

Lewis’ family described his death as yet another example of the needless killing and wounding of people of color by Aurora police — like Vinson, Lewis was black.

Protesters, including those who disrupted the Aurora City Council meeting on June 24, also demanded that Dieck be fired from the Aurora Police Department and face criminal charges.

Dieck remains on leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the department’s Office of Internal Investigations and the independent 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team, which could recommend criminal charges against Dieck if it determines they are warranted.

Department officials did not respond Wednesday to an email asking how Dieck’s use of force in the 2021 incident was reviewed after the fact and whether he faced any retribution for using a Taser on Vinson.

Dieck spent 12 years on the force, including eight years on the department’s SWAT team, according to interim Police Chief Heather Morris, who recounted excerpts from a compilation of body-worn camera footage of the Lewis shooting that APD released last month. Morris did not mention Dieck’s involvement in Vinson’s arrest.

In case of contact with Post, Lewis family attorney Edward Hopkins said Dieck was promoted after Vinson’s arrest.

Hopkins admitted he was hesitant to draw conclusions based on two incidents, but added that if a police officer is prejudiced against black people, he would be expected to become increasingly aggressive toward black men over the course of his career.

“I know it’s easy to become desensitized to this,” Hopkins said. “Every time it happens, we should be more outraged, not less. … The same officer who tasers an unarmed Kyle Vinson, that same officer is now in your SWAT team, shooting and killing Kilyn Lewis. If that doesn’t alarm the typical Aurora resident who thinks of people as if they’re all valuable, what will?”

Hopkins said his company, Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC, asked the Aurora Police Department for the unedited body camera footage of Lewis being shot, as well as Dieck’s training records, more than three weeks ago but has not received the footage.

He warned that if the department was not willing to voluntarily turn over the documents, the family would seek them through a lawsuit.

“We believe there is something on Kilyn Lewis’ body camera that they simply do not want us to see, both audio and video. When that reaches us, we will connect the dots,” Hopkins said.

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