Body cam footage of alleged ISPD assault released

Officer charged with 3rd degree assault

Glenn Wallace
gwallace@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Posted 7/28/21

Unedited body camera footage, showing the use of a stun gun on an unarmed 75-year-old man by an Idaho Springs Police Department officer has been released. Clear Creek County Court Judge Cynthia Jones …

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Body cam footage of alleged ISPD assault released

Officer charged with 3rd degree assault

Posted

The body camera footage showing the use of a stun gun on an unarmed 75-year-old man by an Idaho Springs Police Department officer has been released.

Clear Creek County Court Judge Cynthia Jones ruled that the footage must be released to the public no later than July 29, in accordance with the new state law, House Bill 21-1250, which was signed by Gov. Jared Polis July 6.

The footage, with the faces blurred of everyone aside from the 75-year-old and the officers, was released on July 28 by the 5th Judicial  District Attorney's office.

The video is from the body camera of Officer Nicholas Hanning. It shows Hanning and fellow ISPD officer Ellie Summers responding around 10:45 p.m. on May 30 to a woman in an apartment complex, claiming she’d been assaulted by a fellow resident.

The video shows officers then knocking on the door of Michael Clark, without announcing themselves as police officers. Clark is seen answering the door with a sword-like weapon in his hand, asking "what do you want?"

Hanning, with stun gun in hand, loudly orders Clark to "put it down!" Clark turns around and complies, placing the sword-like weapon on a piece of furniture before turning back toward the two officers who are showing contradictory commands of “get down on the ground” and “get out here now."

Clarke, wearing just a pair of shorts, instead stands near his entryway, and starts talking about  the complaining neighbors.

"They hit that wall so hard I thought they were going to come through," Clark said.

A second later, Hanning fires his stun gun at Clark, who falls unconscious.

Only 27 seconds pass between Clark first opening the door, to him being electrocuted into unconsciousness.

The two officers drag the unconcious Clark out of his apartment and handcuff him. He regains consciousness a little more than two minutes later. In the video Clark sounds groggy and confused as to what is happening.

"They were banging so loud, I thought it was them coming after me," Clark tells the officers.

Even after Hanning reads him his Miranda rights, Clark continues to insist his neighbors had just been loud and he had yelled at them to be quiet.

"What is going on?" Clark says bewildered as the paramedics begin checking on him.

The body cam footage shows Hanning conducting more of an interview with the complaining neighbor, before following the ambulance down to St. Anthony Hospital where Clark was taken.

Clark's attorney says he was still hospitalized six weeks after the incident, stating that following the trauma of being hit by a stun gun he has suffered heart complications, a stroke and a burst appendix.

Idaho Springs police said that after reviewing the evidence, that the department would not pursue charges against Clark for the initial assault claim.

Once the DA's office concluded its investigation, an arrest warrant was issued for Hanning on July 7 for third degree assault. He turned himself in and was released on a $2,000 bond of cash or surety. He was also fired from employment with the department, where he had served for three years.

Summers, who has been with ISPD two years, was disciplined internally according to the department.

body cam, police, ISPD, Idaho Springs Colorado, Michael Clark, Nicholas Hanning

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