Video shows Aurora officer pointing gun at doctor’s head; city now facing potential lawsuit
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Aurora, CO (KDVR) — An Aurora doctor is preparing to file a federal lawsuit against the City of Aurora and its police department after an officer pointed a gun at the doctor while the doctor arrived at his property.
Aurora body camera footage captures the tense moments between Dr. P.J. Parmar and Officer Henderson with the Aurora Police Department.
In the footage, Henderson says, “Let me see your ***ing hands. What are you doing?”
Parmar responds, “You’re on my property, leave.”
The incident occurred just after 6 p.m. on March 1. Parmar owns the Mango House building and says he had just pulled in to drop off gear from a Boy Scout trip when he spotted a police car in his parking garage.
“I stopped immediately. I beeped at him to get his attention and I knew there was going to be something interesting, so I started filming him,” Parmar said.
Parmar says the officer approached his car and pointed a gun directly at his head.
“It’s a mix of being scared and it’s a mix of being annoyed and frustrated,” Parmar said.
In the video, Parmar tells the officer to get off his property while he continues to unload his gear. Eventually, police leave.
While APD says they cannot comment on an internal affairs investigation, in the video, Henderson explains his side of the story to another APD officer captured on body cam.
“I was typing a report and he comes rolling in here like he’s about to assault me with his car,” the officer said.
FOX31: “You don’t feel you were overly aggressive in starting your interaction with the officer, the way you pulled in?”
Parmar: “The way I pulled in was absolutely the way I pulled in many times. I didn’t know he was there.”
Parmar’s attorney, David Lane of Killmer, Lane and Newman LLP, said this is a clear case of excessive force.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has said pointing a gun at someone is use of force and you have to be in reasonable fear that your life is in jeopardy to use that level of force. All Dr. Parmar did was honk his horn at this cop who is illegally parked in Parmar’s building parking lot,” Lane said.
This incident comes amid widespread criticism of APD following the death of Elijah McClain and an officer being found drunk in his patrol car while on duty.
Parmar is calling for a restructuring of the entire Aurora Police Department.
“For my one episode with the video camera, there’s a dozen unfortunate souls ending up on the wrong end of that gun,” Parmar said.
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