A Colorado officer shot an armed man through the window of the man's home, police say
Eric Levenson
By Amanda Watts and Eric Levenson, CNN
Updated 1833 GMT (0233 HKT) October 17, 2019
(CNN) A Colorado police officer is on administrative leave after shooting an armed man in the buttocks though the window of the man's house, according to the Aurora Police Department.
Police went on the night of October 10 to a home to talk with a suspect in an aggravated physical assault case, according to Aurora Police and a probable cause affidavit obtained by CNN affiliate KDVR.
When the officers arrived, they say they encountered Andrew Huff, 22, standing next to a truck outside. As officers in uniform approached the house, Huff fled indoors. He then looked out a window of a well-lit room as a responding officer waved at him, police said.
"The officer was certain Mr. Huff saw her and recognized her as a Police Officer," police said in a statement.
Huff allegedly disappeared from the officer's view, then reappeared at the window with a shotgun, police said.
Officer Alexander Ord shot at Huff, striking him in the buttocks, the affidavit states. Huff did not fire the shotgun and no officers were injured, the affidavit says.
On the way to the hospital, "Huff made several spontaneous utterances to include saying he just saw people (approaching the house), didn't know who they were and got shot," according to the affidavit.
Huff maintains the officers did not identify themselves before firing into his home, his attorney, Birk Baumgartner, told CNN.
"Huff saw someone sneaking through his yard, so he locked the door, retrieved his shotgun, and as he was looking out the window, he saw somebody move in front of the window," Baumgartner said. "He turned to grab his phone to call police and was shot in the back."
Body-camera image shows a man with a gun
The shooting comes days after a Fort Worth police officer was charged with murder for shooting a reportedly armed 28-year-old woman in her home, where she'd been playing video games with her nephew. The officer allegedly did not identify himself as police and fired into the home through a window, killing her. Baumgartner said Huff's shooting had "striking" similarities to the Fort Worth killing "in that police shot a person in their home with zero warning," he said. He said the affidavit is full of omissions and inaccuracies, and he accused the police and district attorney of selectively leaking materials -- including a single image from the body-camera footage -- to make Huff look bad.
A single still photo taken by Ord's body-worn camera shows what police say is Huff standing inside the house holding a shotgun.
"We will release the body worn camera footage when we can do so in a manner that does not impede any future court proceedings," the department said. Huff faces multiple charges, including felony assault, felony menacing and misdemeanor third-degree assault, Aurora Police said. Huff had been held on a $25,000 bond, online court records show.
Baumgartner said Huff, who was released on Wednesday, plans to plead not guilty to what he called the "unfounded" charges.
"They're clearly trumped up by Aurora Police Department in order to justify their shooting of one of their own citizens in the back in his own home," he said.
Ord is on leave "per department policy," Aurora Police said.
An investigation into the shooting will be presented by investigators to the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office for review, police said in their statement. The Aurora Fraternal Order of Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.