Aurora police chief says department ‘frustrated’ they can’t say more about cop shooting that left homeowner dead; attacker ID’d

AURORA | Two days after police gunned down a man who had killed an intruder inside his north Aurora home, police released a third statement apologizing for the dearth of official details that have trickled out thus far.

Separately, the Adams County Coroner identified the intruder as 26-year-old Dajon Harper of Aurora.

In the statement posted to youtube Wednesday, Aurora police Chief Nick Metz said the department “prides itself on getting info out as quickly as possible following a critical incident.”

But in this case, in a bizarre incident, where a police officer killed Gary Black inside his home early Monday morning seconds after Black killed a naked man who attacked his grandson, Metz said investigators are honoring a request from the Adams County district attorney’s office to hold off on releasing many details.

“We remain incredible frustrated that we are not able to get that information out to you in a more timely manner,” Metz said.

Metz said much of the information circulating about the case on social media has been inaccurate, but he didn’t mention specifics. He also didn’t say the version of events detailed by lawyers for Black’s family were inaccurate.

Harper has a lengthy arrest record in Colorado which includes multiple arrests for violent crimes. He has been charged with felony assault, menacing and weapons offenses multiple times, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records. Harper, who goes by the nicknames “Chaos” and “Blackout,” was sentenced to three years in prison in 2013 on robbery and other charges.

While police haven’t said much, lawyers for the Black family have spoken publicly about what the family says say happened.

Black, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, woke up to the sound of his front door crashing in and saw a naked intruder, believed to be Harper, attack his grandson, so he acted to protect his loved ones, according to his family’s lawyer.

As Harper tried to choke and drown the boy in the bathroom, Richard Black and his son desperately tried to pull him off early Monday, even poking him in the eyes, before the 73-year-old grabbed his 9mm handgun and shot Harper twice in the chest, lawyer Siddhartha H. Rathod said.

Soon after, police responding to 911 calls shot and killed Black in his house outside Denver.

It’s the fourth police shooting in the city of Aurora in about a month. Police say the officer who killed Black also was involved in another fatal shooting on June 27 that is still being investigated.

Black’s wife, Jeanette, had called authorities from outside the house, describing her husband and son, who are white, and Harper, who was black, Rathod said.

“Mr. Black did everything right. His actions saved his grandson’s life. He should be in the mayor’s office getting a commendation for his heroism. Instead he’s in the morgue,” the attorney said Tuesday.

Police in Aurora have released only some other details as they investigate the shooting in the racially mixed neighborhood of mostly 1950s ranch homes, saying they need to balance transparency with ensuring a credible investigation.

Police said officers responded to a “very chaotic and violent scene” and one 911 call said an intruder was breaking in to the home. Officers heard gunshots inside and “encountered an armed male,” authorities said. An officer opened fire, striking the man later determined to be the homeowner.

They said a juvenile was found with serious injuries in the home’s bathroom along with the dead intruder, identified by the Adams County coroner’s office as 26-year-old Dajon Harper. The boy, whose age wasn’t released, was expected to recover.

Police Chief Nick Metz said in the video posted online Wednesday that he is frustrated.

“This has been a very tragic situation and a very heartbreaking situation for everyone involved, and our hearts go out to the Black family,” he said.

He and officials from the district attorney’s office, who will decide whether to charge the officer, were expected to answer questions about the case Thursday.

Rathod said officials have reached out to him, and he is hopeful the investigation will be thorough.

Black’s neighborhood is not far from the new, desirable Stapleton community built at Denver’s former airport. The houses are smaller in the older area and some are not kept up as well as Black’s home, where he was known for watering flowers and vegetables in raised beds and building a zip line for his grandchildren.

Neighbors say crime — mainly robberies, shootings and drugs — is a problem and back Black’s actions to defend his family, which is allowed under Colorado law. The state was one of the first to adopt a “Make My Day” law allowing people to shoot and kill intruders in self-defense in their homes.

But neighbors’ feelings about the police vary.

Last month, a woman was stabbed during an attempted robbery at her home nine blocks away. Neighbor Troy Jones said the ice cream man was robbed at gunpoint across the street from his home a few weeks ago.

Jones said crime became more of a problem after many longtime residents died and their homes were turned into rentals.

Jones, who owns his home, said he has a good relationship with the police officer assigned to the neighborhood and sometimes talks to officers who stop in the parking lot of the church next door. But he is concerned about police shootings in the city.

“If they’re scared in their jobs, they need to be in different jobs,” he said.

Mike Montgomery, a neighbor and retired Marine, said he tries to give police the benefit of the doubt during investigations and wonders what the officer who killed Black must be going through.

He said anyone who is not armed in the neighborhood is crazy and that he would have done the same thing as Black to protect his family.

“He was put in a bad situation, a situation he shouldn’t have been put into. Nobody should,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.