A former Aurora police officer pleaded guilty Friday to reckless endangerment after he was charged with attacking a disabled woman while he was off-duty.
Douglas Harroun, 34, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count in the January 2023 incident, and felony charges of assault and attempting to influence a public servant were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, court records show.
A separate criminal case against Harroun over an on-duty police shooting in December 2022 is still pending, and is scheduled for a jury trial in November.
Harroun was arrested in the off-duty assault case after witnesses said he punched a woman several times in the head and face on Jan. 11, 2023, at an apartment complex in the 15000 block of East Briarwood Circle in Aurora.
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The victim, a 49-year-old woman, claimed in a lawsuit that she was walking her dog when Harroun pulled up in a vehicle and began “revving his engine and came dangerously close to hitting” her, “apparently frustrated” that the woman was moving slowly because of her physical disability.
The lawsuit said Harroun leaped out of his car and started yelling at the woman, who pulled a can of pepper spray out and warned the man to back up. Harroun instead grabbed her, slammed her into the ground and punched her, prompting bystanders called 911, according to the lawsuit.
When witnesses attempted to intervene, Harroun flashed his police badge and said the woman was under arrest, according to the lawsuit.
Harroun was sentenced to two years of probation on the misdemeanor conviction, court records show.
He is still facing separate charges for a December 2022 on-duty police shooting, in which he is charged with two counts of felony assault.
Harroun resigned from the Aurora Police Department on Jan. 30, 2023. His attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Monday.
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