Nicholas Hanning expected to plead guilty in Idaho Springs police case

This story first appeared in a Colorado Community Media newspaper. Support CCM’s neighborhood news. The Colorado Sun is an owner of CCM.

Nicholas Hanning, the former Idaho Springs police officer charged with assault stemming from an on-duty incident, is expected to enter a guilty plea next week.

Hanning appeared in court via WebEx on Nov. 30, when Clear Creek County County Judge Cynthia Jones decided to continue his disposition hearing to 2 p.m. Dec. 9 to allow the parties in the case to appear in-person.

Hanning has been charged with third-degree assault of an at-risk person for deploying a stun gun on Michael Clark, 75, on May 30. Clark, who was unarmed in his home when he was stunned, has since suffered serious medical problems.

This undated photo provided by the 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office shows Nicholas Hanning. Hanning, a police officer in Colorado, used a Taser on a 75-year-old man less than a minute after he answered his door with a “Hawaiian sword” but after he put down the weapon and without issuing any warning, according to a court document released Tuesday, July 13, 2021. (The 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office via AP)

Clark’s lawyer, Timothy Bussey stated on Nov. 30 that his client and family intend to speak in opposition to the plea agreement the prosecution has reached with Hanning’s attorney.

Jones explained that was one reason to continue the hearing: to allow more time for the Clark family to speak.

Along with the May 30 assault case, Hanning has also been named in a lawsuit filed by Brady Mistic, a deaf man who claims Hanning and another ISPD officer used “unnecessary force” when they deployed a stun-gun and arrested him in September 2019.