Pictured: Naked intruder, 26, shot dead by homeowner before he was killed by cops

A naked intruder who was shot dead by the homeowner as he attempted to strangle his grandson, has been identified.

Dajon Harper, 26, was killed by Vietnam War veteran Richard ‘Gary’ Black, who was then accidentally shot dead by police responding to the break in at his Colorado home. 

The suspect had reportedly stripped the 11-year-old boy and was biting on his ear and choking him in the bathtub when Black shot him.

Dajon Harper, 26, (left) was killed by Vietnam War veteran Richard ‘Gary’ Black (right), who was then accidentally shot dead by police responding to the break in at his Colorado home

Harper, of Denver, who used the aliases ‘Harper Boy Killa’ and ‘Harper Chaos Lil,’ was previously accused of attempted murder and child abuse in 2011 but the charges were dropped. He had a long history of violence and weapons violations. 

It has since been revealed that the officer who killed Black had gunned down a fleeing suspect just a month earlier. The officer, who has not been named, has been placed on paid administrative reassignment. 

Black’s stepson Chad Hayashi, who is the East Montview Boulevard, Colorado, house during the 1.30am break in, claims after Black was shot by the officer, who opened fire through the front door of their home, he was handcuffed on the floor rather than being taken for immediate medical treatment. 

The 73-year-old later died in hospital.

Aurora police received multiple calls about a break-in at the suburban Denver home (pictured) at about 1.30am on Monday

An Aurora Police Department officer walks down the sidewalk as another officer in protective gear loads a box truck in front of the home of a man who was shot and killed by police

Hayashi says Aurora police have a lot of questions they need to answer after the fatal shooting of his stepfather. 

‘I want answers. I want the truth. I want accountability,’ Hayashi told ABC News. 

‘I want it all out there. I want every bodycam. Every officer I saw had a bodycam on. So there should be 20 bodycam videos. I want to see them all.’

Aurora Police officials are expected to hold a press conference Thursday to discuss the shooting and say an investigation is underway.

But Hayashi says its inconceivable that a decorated veteran would be gunned down while he was trying to save his family.   

‘My dad was a hero, period,’ he said. ‘He’s been a hero in this country since 1966, and he needs to be recognized as such.’

Hayashi said he was fast asleep when he heard a loud commotion outside his room.

‘I opened my bedroom door, and there’s a woman standing there, and she starts saying to me, ‘My son is on drugs and he has your baby,” Hayashi said.

Hayashi said he saw another man standing off to his right, and saw the bathroom light on. It was then he remembered, his 11-year-old son had fallen asleep on the couch.

‘I just immediately shot into the bathroom to find this naked guy soaking wet, like on his back with his feet out of the tub, choking my son, biting his left ear, and there’s blood coming out of my son’s ear,’ he said. 

Richard ‘Gary’ Black, 73, (with his wife Jeannette) was killed after police burst into his suburban Denver home at about 1.30am on Monday

Black, who grew up in Anderson, South Carolina, graduated from The Citadel and fought in the war in Vietnam where he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his bravery (pictured receiving the awards in 1960s

He said Harper had also stripped his son naked before he’d dragged the boy, who was screaming in terror, into the tub with him and switched on the water.  The intruder was silent and his eyes were closed when Hayashi found them. 

Hayashi said he desperately tried to force Harper to free his son, jabbing him in the throat to get him to stop biting his son’s ear, and jabbing him in the eye when he wouldn’t release his choke hold.

‘I had jabbed my right thumb into his left eye socket all the way up to the first knuckle. And when he didn’t squeal in pain, I got even more worried. But eventually, he let go of my son.’ 

Hayashi said he managed to free his son but then Harper had launched himself at his stepfather, who had heard the commotion and came running to help.

‘This naked guy is standing behind my dad, and grabbed a porcelain flower vase and smashed him on the top of the head, and they struggled some more,’ Hayashi said. 

‘My dad rotates, and he was wearing a bathrobe. He had a smaller-carry weapon, and that’s what he pulled out and shot the guy twice in the torso.’

Harper died instantly.

Hayashi said that Black, who had a legal permit to carry a concealed weapon, left the bathroom and a few moments later he heard multiple shots. Only after the shots were fired, did he hear officers yelling ‘police.’

‘They shot the first thing they saw moving, in my opinion,’ Hayashi said. 

Evidence shows that the officers appear to have opened fire without even entering the house. The cop who shot Black, reportedly fired through the open front door.

Hayashi said he wrapped his ‘soaking wet and bleeding’ son in a towel, and was being rushed out the house by police when he saw his stepfather, handcuffed on the ground.   

‘My dad is down, face down, kind of rotated to the right and I can see the left side of his face and he’s handcuffed,’ Hayashi said. ‘I reach down, and I don’t remember if I touched his shoulder or his face, but he looked at me and I got pushed off by an officer and out the door.’

That was the last time he would see Black alive.

He says they were taken to the police headquarters and initially put in the room with the woman who claimed to be Harper’s mother and the other man who had been in his house, until they almost came to blows and were moved.

They waited for hours and were questioned before they were finally told that Black was dead.

Hayashi also claims that the police told them a lie.

‘I was told that he was told to drop the weapon and he didn’t,’ Hayashi said. ‘I never heard anything about ‘drop your weapon.’ There was no warning at all. They should have been yelling from the moment they hit the driveway, 80 feet down. It’s a long driveway. They should have been yelling, especially as many police officers as there were on scene.’

The grandson was taken to hospital for serious but non life threatening injuries and Jeannette was also taken for treatment on a wound that reopened during the chaos. 

The family’s lawyer Siddhartha H. Rathod insists that the 73-year-old ‘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,’ Rathod said.

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.

Police in Aurora – Colorado’s third-largest city on the eastern edge of Denver – so far have released only some 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. 

‘We know how important it is for our community to know and understand what occurred the night of this officer-involved shooting and making sure you have the best information possible,’ Chief Nick Metz said in a video posted online Wednesday.

Metz also expressed his sympathy to members of Black’s family.

‘This has been a very tragic situation and a very heartbreaking situation for everyone involved, and our hearts go out to the Black family,’ the chief said.

Officers are seen smiling and chatting at the scene where a fellow cop shot dead the resident 

Cops gunned down Black in his own home after he shot an intruder and called the police (police at the scene)

Police have previously said officers responded to a ‘very chaotic and violent scene’ and one 911 call said an intruder was breaking in to the home.

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

Police said officers heard gunshots fired inside and ‘encountered an armed male.’ An officer opened fire, striking the man, who police say turned out to be the homeowner.     

Mike Montgomery, a neighbor and retired Marine, said anyone who is not armed in the neighborhood – which has been ravaged by crime – is crazy. 

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

Black was legally allowed to shoot the intruder and Colorado 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.

Another neighbor said it was on officers to protect citizens, not just themselves.

Troy Jones said: ‘If (officers are) scared in their jobs, they need to be in different jobs.’ 

Police are now investigating the fatal police shooting and will be reviewing officers’ body camera footage to better understand what occurred.

Aurora Police Chief Nicholas Metz released a statement on Facebook page Tuesday, calling the investigation ‘extremely complex.’  

When officers burst into the home, they shot the homeowner, described as a long-time resident, grandfather and retired family man, who was often seen tending to his front gardens

Police blocked off the street outside the home where the shooting occured

‘In order to conduct a comprehensive investigation, we continue to methodically collect evidence, interview witnesses, and review all available recordings, to include the body worn cameras of all involved officers.’ 

He described the shooting as ‘a very heartbreaking and tragic situation for everyone involved.

‘We are providing assistance through our victim advocates to help the family of the deceased resident through this very difficult time.’

But the family are demanding answers to why Black, described as a long-time resident, grandfather and retired family man, who was often seen tending to his front gardens, was killed by police.

‘Aurora is going to need to come out and say what happened,’ Rathod said.

Family, friends and neighbors are devastated by the police-shooting of the decorated war hero and father-of-three.

Elisa Black-Taylor, his half sister, said Black had died saving his family.

‘I’ve chatted with his daughter and she says he saved his family when an intruder broke into his home,’ she explained. 

‘He will be remembered as a hero, both for his service to his country as well as to the family who loved him.’

Neighbors were furious over the shooting.

‘It’s sad and screwed up,’ Brad Maestas, who has known the family for 34 years, told the Denver Post.

‘He was a family man — a grandpa that was protecting his family. It’s messed up.’

Black, who grew up in Anderson, South Carolina, graduated from The Citadel and fought in the war in Vietnam where he received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his bravery. 

According to state records, he later held a license as a certified public accountant in Colorado from 1999 to 2008. 

He came from a military background and his father was a Staff Sgt. during WWII who fought at the Battle of the Bulge. 

‘He was a wonderful family man who loved spending time with his grandchildren and caring for his garden,’ added his half sister.  

An investigation is now underway, by the Aurora Police Major Crimes Unit and Denver Police Department. 

The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office also released a statement saying that they will determine whether the officer involved in the shooting should face criminal charges. 

The shooting marked the second deadly encounter involving Aurora police in three days.

 

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