x
Breaking News
More () »

Man sues after Aurora officers pull gun on him during traffic stop

Less than a minute into a traffic stop, Preston Nunn had a gun pointed at his head as he reached for his driver's license.

AURORA, Colo. — One man is suing eight Aurora police officers who drew a gun and took him to the ground during a traffic stop, despite following an officer's directions.

In May of 2021, Preston Nunn and a female passenger were out for a drive at night when he was pulled over for allegedly violating Colorado's Move Over law. 

"What's the law in Colorado when a vehicle has its emergency lights on like that? Slow down and get over. You actually came into a lane," The officer who pulled Nunn over, Gabriel Nestor, said on body camera footage. He then asked for a license and registration.

That's when things escalated, and they escalated fast.

On the footage, Nunn handed over his registration before reaching for his wallet.

"It just escalated so fast," Nunn said in an interview with 9NEWS on Thursday.

"Give me your license and registration. I'm about to tow your vehicle," Nestor says in the video.

"I'm sorry…no but you're absolutely right but," Nunn replies as he reached for his wallet. 

At that moment, Nestor draws his gun and trains it on Nunn's head. 

"What are you digging for?" Nestor shouted. "Stop digging! Why are you digging in your pants like that? Put your hands on your f****** face!"

Less than a minute into this traffic stop, Nunn has a gun pointed at his head.

"I thought I was going to die that night," Nunn told 9NEWS. Nunn said he thought he was going to get shot, so he got out of the car. He told 9NEWS he wanted to protect his passenger, who hadn't done anything.

"I'm just getting out," Nunn says in the video. Nestor then shouts for Nunn to get on the ground.

"Get down! Get down! Get down on the ground now!" Nestor says.

"I got my license and registration," Nunn says, but he's then taken to the ground by another Aurora police officer, Cody Goetz. Nunn's head hits the ground. 

He's choked by Goetz. Then, Nestor uses a Taser on Nunn twice.

"I was gushing blood from my face to my mouth, knees, arms, elbows and stuff," Nunn said of the takedown. In the bodycam, Nunn told the officers he was going to sue all of them.

His attorney, Crist Whitney, told 9NEWS the incident is a matter of excessive force. He also said what happened was a clear violation of Aurora policy and an example of why that police department is under a consent decree.

That court-ordered consent decree puts Aurora Police under a microscope, meant to stop the department's history of racially biased policing.

“The report has shown that the Aurora Police Department has been practicing racially biased policing and also using force against Black citizens at a higher rate than they do white citizens and that’s what we have here," Whitney said. "If this was a rich older white man, this would have never occurred. This occurred because Preston Nunn is a young Black man in a nice vehicle."

Aurora Police Department had no comment on Nunn's lawsuit, which names officers Paulmichael Trenery, Abigail Wilson-Larose, Karen Johnson, Anastasia Kalistratova, Michael Ripley and Jon Marek in addition to Nestor and Goetz.

"That night changed my life," Nestor said. One moment in particular plays in his head, again and again. It's what Nestor said to Nunn after the struggle was over.

"Why did you bang my head to the ground like that?" Nunn asks in the video, still lying on ground. 

"You about got shot bud," Nestore replies.

"You should have shot me then," Nunn said.

While walking away, Nestor says, "I know… I'm glad I didn't."

"I'll never forget that," Nunn told 9NEWS. "For my whole life, for the rest of life."

Nestor got a written reprimand for his actions that night. No other officers were disciplined.

SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Next with Kyle Clark

Before You Leave, Check This Out