A man accused of attempting to kill a Colorado Springs police officer pleaded not guilty Monday to more than 15 charges in a case that includes a contentious history between the defendant and one of the involved officers.

Michael Foster, 35, stands accused of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, disarming a peace officer and several other charges stemming from an incident that occurred Feb. 2.

On that day, several Colorado Springs Police Department officers were near the 2600 block of East Bijou Street to arrest a man named Frank “Freeze” Williams, whom they later learned was already in custody. Two of those officers, Steven Mibert and Dan Mork, saw a man dressed in dark clothing and a face covering, “acting suspiciously,” officials said. The man, later identified as Foster, was reportedly walking in and out of buildings linked to gang activity.

As other officers began to leave the area, Mork and Mibert stayed behind to keep an eye on Foster.

Body-worn camera footage released by CSPD shows Foster running from Officer Mork, ignoring repeated commands to get on the ground. When Foster is cornered in a fenced-in area, he turns toward Mork with a gun in his hand. Both men fire, and Mork can be heard saying, “I’m shot.”

In Mibert’s body-camera video, Foster, on the ground and apparently injured, tries several times to crawl away before a struggle ensues between Mibert and Foster. Foster appears to reach for Mibert’s gun hand, at which time the officer fires five shots at Foster.

Mork was treated for nonlife-threatening injuries. Foster’s injuries were listed as life-threatening at the time of the shooting. He appeared in court on Monday wearing a sling on his right arm.

The Colorado Springs Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (COSAARPR), a local advocacy group, has been vocal about the case, accusing both officers of racially profiling Foster and alleging that Mibert lied in court about the weather conditions on Feb. 2, which police have used as part of their justification for why Foster was initially approached.

“We have seen dishonesty in this case,” said COSAARPR member Jessie Profitt, who set up a pamphleteering table outside the courthouse Monday. “We think this is a sham trial. It’s an attempt to take revenge on a man for defending himself in a case where there was a clear past history with one of the officers.”

In 2023, Foster filed an excessive-force lawsuit against Mork following an arrest that allegedly resulted in several injuries, including a broken orbital bone. Judge Eric Bentley dismissed the lawsuit.

Foster, who is being held on a $1.1 million bond, also faces more than 40 criminal charges stemming from an identity fraud case. That case is being bound over pending the outcome of the attempted-murder trial. If he is convicted in the October trial, he is facing decades in prison.