Nate Cullison is an amateur mixed martial artist from Pueblo, California. He is being investigated for his alleged involvement in an attack on a homeless man]. The incident was captured on video and surfaced online over the weekend, prompting a wave of criticism and concern about vigilantism.
According to a news clip from KRDO NewsChannel 13, Doug Cullison, a volunteer SWAT medic with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, took the homeless man down to the ground.
Nate Cullison, who is Doug’s son, then entered the scene and kicked the man in the head before launching a flurry of punches that left the man lying motionless on the ground.
The man was accused of assaulting a teacher at a nearby school in the afternoon hours of September 14, 2022. He was issued a ticket for battery and released, according to a report from the Pueblo Police Department.
The video of the attack has raised serious questions about whether the “citizen’s arrest” was lawful. Pueblo defense attorney Shawn Conti reviewed the video and said that in order for a citizen’s arrest to be lawful in Colorado, the person making the arrest has to be in the presence of the crime being committed.
“That means that you have to see the crime,” Conti explained. “I’m led to believe that someone like that, had he seen the crime, there probably would have not been a crime. They would have stepped in. They would have intervened and stopped it.”
Conti also questioned the responding officers’ handling of the incident, saying that an internal affairs investigation should be conducted to determine why the homeless man was left with injuries and why neither Doug nor Nate Cullison had any marks on them.
Since 2014, Benny A. King has been fully immersed in the world of combat sports. Starting with a blog about Greco Roman wrestling, Benny’s passion for combat sports has led him to explore various disciplines.