Aurora has repeatedly learned the hard way that police cannot police themselves.
Still, years after the city’s trust in law enforcement was shattered, the Aurora City Council still has not delivered what the community was promised and desperately needs — a truly independent, empowered system to oversee, regulate and hold the Aurora Police Department accountable.
The history of APD makes the case undeniable. Internal affairs reviews, command-level investigations and disciplinary processes have repeatedly failed to catch misconduct early, stop patterns of abuse or impose consequences that match the harm done.
The 2019 death of Elijah McClain stands as the most devastating example, but it is far from the only one. When police are asked to investigate their own colleagues, the result is predictable. The request, or even demand, is met with hesitation, minimization, and too often, exoneration. No profession should be trusted with unchecked self-policing, especially one granted the extraordinary power to detain, injure or kill.
Nor can Aurora rely on local prosecutors to fill that accountability gap. The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, under then–District Attorney George Brachler, failed to find criminal fault in Elijah McClain’s death.
It wasn’t until Gov. Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser prompted a substantial investigation that the public was made aware of what was long suspected. The investigation found that Aurora police had for years exhibited “patterns and practices” of using excessive force, especially on people of color.
Past decisions to overlook or justify excessive force complaints severely damaged public confidence and underscored a fundamental conflict in the system. Prosecutors work daily with police officers, depend on them to build cases and win convictions, and are institutionally disincentivized from aggressively pursuing charges against them. Even when prosecutors act in good faith, the appearance of bias alone erodes trust.
The practice is unfair to the officers and the public.
Credible oversight cannot come from offices so deeply intertwined with the department they are supposed to scrutinize.
Aurora once understood this. In 2021, a previous City Council and former City Manager Jim Twombly pressed forward with a serious, credible plan to establish a substantial civilian police oversight system. That effort was grounded in months of work by the Community Police Task Force, a group that included respected Black community leaders, educators and activists who immersed themselves in the complexities of police policy, discipline and national oversight models. Their recommendations were not radical. They were informed, careful and aligned with what national experts consistently say works.
The Task Force called for an independent Office of Police Accountability, Transparency and Transformation. It was not to be a toothless “monitor,” but a watchdog with real authority, including subpoena power. it would have the ability to compel police records and testimony.
The committee or commission would have the capacity to investigate critical incidents and civilian complaints independently. And, crucially, it would have a role in adjudicating discipline when existing systems fail. Experts across the country have been clear that without these powers, oversight bodies are little more than suggestion boxes.
Transparency without enforcement is theater.
But the plan was derailed and ultimately killed after far-right council members were elected later in 2021. What followed was a predictable delay, dilution and retreat. Aurora was left with the trappings of reform but without its substance.
Years later, the city still lacks an oversight structure capable of meaningfully checking police power.
This failure is even more indefensible given that Aurora remains under a state-mandated consent decree. Oversight is not optional in that context. It is essential. Implementation of the decree demands rigorous, independent monitoring to ensure that reforms are not only adopted on paper but embedded in daily practice. Leaving that responsibility primarily to the police department itself is an invitation to backsliding and quiet noncompliance.
It could be that police are making huge strides, but unless the public can question and trust the news, it does neither the police nor the community any good.
At its core, this is about safety, legitimacy and trust. Effective policing depends on community cooperation. Cooperation depends on trust. And trust cannot exist when residents believe — with good reason — that officers who abuse their authority will be shielded by the very system meant to restrain them.
Aurora does not need to reinvent the wheel. The blueprint already exists in the task force recommendations. The city has studied other models, heard from national experts and lived through the consequences of inaction.
What it no longer lacks is political will. At least two city lawmakers, newly elected, have shown a keen interest in moving the issue of independent police oversight forward.
The cost of delay is measured not just in lawsuits or headlines, but in lives and legitimacy. Aurora cannot afford more half-measures. The council must finally deliver real oversight that is independent in structure, empowered in law and worthy of the public’s trust.
