AURORA, Col. (AP)-A police officer in suburban Denver is facing a felony charge after allegedly beating a disabled woman who was walking her dog outside her apartment complex while he was off duty.
Aurora officer Douglas Harroun, 32, was charged with third-degree assault on an adult at risk after Wednesday’s encounter, Sentinel Colorado reported. He is represented by the state public defender’s office, which does not comment on open cases.
According to an arrest affidavit, Harroun and his wife were driving toward the apartment complex as the disabled woman walked her unleashed dog in the middle of the road, forcing Harroun to drive slowly behind her as she approached the parking lot.
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The woman yelled at Harroun for following her, and he and his wife got into a verbal argument with her, according to the affidavit. Witnesses told investigators that Harroun then struck the woman across her face and four times five more times on the head after she fell to the ground.
The 49-year-old woman, who has a chronic pain disorder that affects the nerves in half of her body, was taken to a hospital with undisclosed injuries.
Harroun has been suspended indefinitely without pay, according to the police department, which is opening an internal affairs investigation.
Harroun was hired in 2020 and was placed on paid administrative leave after his involvement in a non-fatal shooting while on duty on New Year’s Eve, according to the department. He was still on administrative leave for that shooting at the time of his arrest following Wednesday’s confrontation.
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