See Officer and Previous Abuser Mark Magness Beat Suspect Bloody

Last week, we shared body camera footage of Trinidad Officer Ron Arlint killing Todd Dye, a wanted man hiding in a supposedly abandoned trailer.

In that case, the video exonerated Arlint, since it showed Dye pulling and aiming a weapon before the officer responded with fatal fire.

A new body camera clip out of Federal Heights had the opposite effect for Officer Mark Magness.

The imagery definitively shows why Magness has pleaded guilty to assaulting a prisoner, who he beat bloody.

Astonishingly, Federal Heights officials have yet to confirm that Magness is no longer a member of the force, even though this is his second incident of on-the-job violence.

The Federal Heights footage, obtained by both 7News and 9News, was shot in December 2014 and reportedly runs for around nine-and-a-half minutes.

According to the former station, the video kicks off with Magness yanking an unidentified, handcuffed man from a police car and slamming him into a doorway.


Despite this treatment, the man apologizes to Magness — but his mood changes as Magness is removing his cuffs.

He can be heard telling Magness "Fuck you" as he's being pushed into a cell and subsequently takes an open-handed swing at the officer.

In response, Magness initiated a beating that is said to have taken around ten seconds.

Here's an image from the onslaught.


In subsequent moments, Magness can be seen tossing a chair, after which a fellow officer lets him know he's wearing a body camera and his actions are being preserved for posterity.

Magness' reply: "F that! F that!"

Next, Magness hurls the man into a chair and appears to press his fingers into various spots on his head, as seen in the image at the top of this post. There's a clear smear of blood on the prisoner's chin.

"We're gonna need medical," the officer with the body cam says.

"I don't care," Magness replies. "Strap him to the chair."


This isn't the first incident of its type in Magness' law-enforcement career.

In 2009, 9News revealed that Magness had attacked Denny Discua, who'd been walking home from a fireworks show, twisting his arm until it popped from its socket and then pushing him down. Discua came to a halt only after tumbling into a cement culvert, the station notes.

For these actions, Magness pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and paid a $517 fine, but he was allowed to remain on the police force.

Will he be able to do so again? On June 17, Magness pleaded guilty to third-degree assault — but a police dispatcher wasn't able to give 9News information about Magness' status and a FHPD rep referred questions to the district attorney's office.

Whatever the case, the video is practically a primer for excessive force by police. See it as part of this 7News piece.


Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.