AURORA | The off-duty officer facing a felony charge for allegedly punching a disabled woman in the face during a dispute in January has resigned from the Aurora Police Department.
According to the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training website, Douglas Harroun resigned Jan. 30, while under investigation.
Harroun is the subject of both a criminal case and an internal investigation by the department due to an altercation that took place on Jan. 11. According to an affidavit for his arrest, that evening he and his wife got into an argument with a woman who was walking her dog on the street in front of his apartment complex.
After arguing verbally, the affidavit said Harroun got out of his car and punched the woman in the face, knocking her to the ground. Witnesses said that Harroun then “got on top of her and continued to punch her in the head four to five more times,” according to the affidavit.
Harroun was arrested by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department and charged with third-degree assault against an at risk adult, a class 5 felony. He is next scheduled to appear March 6 in Arapahoe County District Court.
Harroun was placed on indefinite suspension without pay following his arrest, and APD interim chief Art Acevedo said that his actions were “inconsistent with the Aurora Police Department’s core values.”
In an email to The Sentinel, APD spokesperson Faith Goodrich said that the internal investigation into Harroun will continue.
“Once complete, the findings will be reported out to the appropriate entities,” she said.
At the time of his arrest, Harroun was on paid administrative leave after shooting an unidentified man in the leg during the arrest of a domestic violence suspect on New Year’s Eve. An investigation, which is standard practice in Colorado after any police shooting, is ongoing by the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team.
Harroun was hired as an entry-level police officer in February 2020. According to his hiring application, he worked as a private security officer in Greenwood Village for about a year but had no previous police experience.
So, hired 6 months after the Elijah McClain death, but prior to the consent decree. Does this hiring reflect the lessons former Chief Wilson learned from the McClain case? Does it perhaps reflect recruiting was more challenging during that time frame and so subject to adjusted standards to recruit in a difficult environment?
Hope thathe bully does not meet me in the gym.
Should he attempto assault me, I’d end his assault.
wHy dOEsn’T thE cOMmuNiTy rEspECt ThE pOliCe?
Who do you think arrested this guy?
We do respect and value our police officers.