EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that police crisis intervention training for current officers is voluntary. The training is not voluntary but was reported as such in the most recent review by the independent monitor of the consent decree incorrectly.
AURORA | After four years of implementing the demands made by a state-imposed consent decree, a contracted monitor reported that Aurora public safety leaders have made significant progress in addressing overly aggressive and biased policing. However, it said there is still work to do on accountability systems and ensuring efforts continue beyond the initial monitoring period.
The 10th monitoring report, which covers August 2025 to February, released this month, says Aurora police and fire departments are 81% substantially compliant with the decree’s mandates. It also found that the fire department’s efforts to regulate the use of chemical sedatives, like prohibiting ketamine, have been successful enough to warrant the termination of continued monitoring of those policies.
Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
In a statement to the Sentinel, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who imposed the consent decree in 2021, said the city has made progress but more improvement is needed, particularly from the police department.
“While data collection and analysis is being done, the way the data is being used to improve behavior in the field is a work-in-progress,” Weiser said, adding that he is supportive of the efforts to create a permanent police monitor truly independent of the police department.
The decree followed investigations into repeated incidents of excessive use of force and discrimination by Aurora police, particularly against people of color, including the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who died at the hands of police and first responders after being stopped, even though he was unarmed. McClain was not suspected or accused of any crimes, but he was walking at home at night from a convenience store
The decree outlines 68 mandates broad reforms in training, accountability, use-of-force policies, data systems and community engagement.
The decree is overseen by IntegrAssure, a paid contractor that works alongside city staff and public safety leaders to monitor and ensure progress.
IntegrAssure’s 10th report was positive about the efforts made by Aurora’s public safety departments in the last four years, pointing to clearer use of force policies, scenario-based training, comprehensive incident reviews and strengthened supervisory oversight. The report says those changes “have materially improved the City’s ability to manage critical incidents in a disciplined and constructive manner.”
It also highlighted areas that still need improvement, such as standardizing discipline for officers, advancing bias-screening metrics and establishing the Office of Public Safety Accountability to ensure the changes are sustained and continue independent monitoring.
The report did get some pushback, with Qusair Mohamedbhai, one of the attorneys for the McClain family, questioning whether the report is truly objective. Mohamedbhai said the report is “trying to communicate a message that things are improving, but doesn’t communicate very much information about what’s going on.”
APD Bodycam Screengrab
Mohamedbhai also raised concern that the report doesn’t provide details about how the department responds to mental health crises or what kind of crisis intervention training officers receive. The report says crisis training is a supplement to other use-of-force training.
“There is absolutely no discussion at all as to what the plans are of the department to better respond to community members who are going through mental health crises,” Mohamedbhai said. “Aurora doesn’t seem to be improving on this particular issue, and it’s surprising that this report glosses over this very important topic.”
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain did not respond to a request for comment, but a city spokesperson said the police and fire departments remain committed to the consent decree process and consider the decree’s criteria to be a baseline for the future.
“Aurora and its public safety agencies are committed to a culture of continuous improvement that goes beyond said baseline,” the spokesperson said, noting the city’s budget contains funding for the creation of the Office of Public Safety Accountability.
So far, city council members have had a few community meetings to start the process of creating the office.
In addition to the 10th report, IntegrAssure released a four-year reflection, which praised public safety leaders for embracing a cultural shift toward continuous improvement, as opposed to the previous culture where reforms were “externally driven and compliance oriented.”
During the 10th reporting period, there were no officer-involved shootings and, though arrests increased compared to a previous reporting period, use of force incidents were slightly down.
According to the report, the police departments’ efforts have resulted in a change in public opinion. A 2026 public survey on attitudes toward the police department found that the public has a less negative view of police, but also that positive attitudes have slightly decreased, signaling people have shifted to a neutral view of the department.
Omar Montgomery, state conference president for the NAACP and one of the original members of the Community Advisory Council, which formed under the decree and made recommendations to the police, said he has seen positive changes but still wants to see permanent independent monitoring efforts put in place.
“I think some of the things they’ve done in regards to de-escalation training, which I still consider in the process of being implemented, are working and some aspects of APD culture are changing,” Montgomery said. “The area I think can definitely still use improvement is how IntegrAssure engages and informs the community. They’re at the point where they only have to report twice a year, which is why I think we have to begin putting our efforts into the permanent, independent monitor.”
Montgomery, who was formerly the Aurora NAACP president, emphasized that wanting long-term monitoring is not an anti-police stance, but a pro-public safety one.
“We want the same thing that everyone wants — a safe city with accountability for people who abuse their power,” he said.
When we venture up to Stapleton(which should have been named after one or both of the amazing Black pioneering Aeronautical Engineers), we frequently see 3-5 police cars interacting with ONE. BLACK. MOTORIST! Down here near Iliff and Havana, it’s unusual to see ONE cop car in a day. We pay taxes, so why do we suffer with speeding and dangerous drivers every day? Oh, and why can we count no less than TEN expired temporary license tags DAILY? Declare a one-month moratorium where the three month(?) fudge limit still counts, and after that, charge the scofflaws for EVERY MONTH THEY ARE ILLEGAL. We could do alot of good with all of that money. If laws aren’t enforced, what’s the dang point?
Smoke and mirrors. First, anyone who takes an objective look at the Attorney General’s report that started this fiasco will see that he stretched to create a racist picture from incidents that showed no racial bias basis. But, at the time it was politically correct and helped his career. So, Aurora pays out 4 million dollars to an organization that gives you periodic reports about how their policies look. A nice job, if you can get it.
The Sentinel continues their unbiased reporting by including a photo of Officer Haubert choking a suspect who tried to take his gun. There is no mention of the fact that the jury found Haubert not guilty on all charges. That is because the jury saw a video that the police department basically hid and never showed anyone. Now, how a police department can hide a video that cleared their own officer begs the question about what kind of leadership exists in the department. Former Chief Wilson used the incident for her own political gain. She is gone, but Sergeant Snow and Deputy Chief Juul are still there. They were instrumental in the incredibly poor and dishonest investigation into the incident. As far as I can determine, Snow was the only one who saw the accurate video and he was the one who filed the charges. The charges were filed within days even before all the videos had been picked up. Show me anywhere where charges are filed against their own officer before even looking at the evidence. Normal investigations into these things often take months. Further, after presenting copies of my Internal Affairs complaint to Council and the Aurora Police Department, subsequent chiefs have refused to even investigate my thoroughly documented complaint. There is little doubt about the violations included in the complaint. I retired from APD. I have been a detective and a detective supervisor. I know a little about investigations. The Independent Monitor supposedly looked at the IAU compliant and all he would say is that they have seen it. So much for any credible oversight.
I have said all along that shootings of black men will continue. It cannot be completely avoided due to a cultural problem in the black community. However, it is the job of law enforcement to protect life as job #1. The recent shootings have shown a lack of training, poor tactics, and poor use of protective equipment. APD has a real problem with a lack of leadership and guidance when it comes to use of force. The public can’t see it. They don’t know anything about tactics and training. They do know something is wrong. It is easy to gloss over the lack of proper tactics and just say that the officer was attacked. A real chief would be addressing the lack of training and street supervision. Luckily, for him, no one in the City Administration cares or knows anything.