AURORA | With three openings on the Aurora Civil Service Commission, two members were reappointed last week by the Aurora City Council, and one position was filled by a recently retired Aurora Police officer.
The commission had five applicants for three open positions. The two previous members appointed to another term were former Aurora City Councilmember Barb Cleland and Desmond McNeal. The new applicants were Judy Gurley-Lutkin, Andreastasha Clark and Matt Snider.
Cleland and McNeal were reappointed Feb. 24 with council members citing their knowledge of the commission.
The five-member commission is responsible primarily for hiring and screening police and firefighter applicants. The panel, independent from police and city management, also acts as an appeals board for police discipline.
The commission has for decades been sometimes controversial. In the 1990s and 2000s, the commission was often criticized for being too lenient with discipline officers. In 2018, the commission was lambasted by police administrators for reversing the firing of officer Charles DeShazer, who was caught on police body cam calling Black witnesses to a crime “porch monkeys.” More recently, the commission has come under fire for lowering hiring standards for police, weakening the force. Commissioners and supporters said a change in standards improves the police force.
The commission also has a role in the city’s police consent decree. In 2021, the city was forced into the decree after the Colorado attorney general’s office found during an investigation “patterns and practices” of the police regularly using excessive force, especially among people of color.
Officer Gurley-Lutkin worked for the Aurora Police Department for 27 years before recently retiring. While on the force, she also led the Aurora Police Association, one of two Aurora police unions.
Gurley-Lutkin was appointed by an 8-2 city council vote, with Mayor Mike Coffman and Councilmember Alison Coombs opposed. They both said they were concerned about a lack of objectivity because of her close ties to the police department and the union.
“My concern is the somewhat polarizing approach that the Aurora Police Association has sometimes taken, including when she was the leader of that association,” Coombs said. “I think when we look at history, that does raise a similar concern for me about objectivity.”
Councilmembers Stephany Hancock and Danielle Jurinaky said Gurley-Lutkin spoke about objectivity in her interview and assured city council she could separate personal opinions.
“As far as staying neutral and impartial on the Commission, I did that as an officer going out into the community every day,” Gurley-Lutkin said during her interview Feb. 10. “Everybody comes into a job like this with their personal beliefs, and you just have to set that aside.”
Cleland was reappointed to the Civil Service Commission through a unanimous vote by city council. Cleland has lived in Aurora for 50 years, according to her application. Currently retired, Cleland also previously worked for Aurora Mental Health in community relations. She also serves on the Aurora Housing Authority.
McNeal was also reappointed to the Commission unanimously by city council. He has lived in Aurora for 40 years and currently works at HCA-HealthONE.
“McNeal was previously the chair of the commission, served well, could explain the purpose of the commission, the changes to the Commission over time, and has a dedication to our city and just preserving the intent of that commission,” Coombs said before she appointed him and was seconded by Jurinsky.
yeah, conflict of interest much? Hopefully she has integrity.
Officer Gurley-Lutkin worked for the Aurora Police Department for 27 years before recently retiring. While on the force, she also led the Aurora Police Association, one of two Aurora police unions.
Judy Lutkin will be fine on the Civil Service Commission. The only problem here is that the whole Commission is a waste of taxpayer money and should be abolished to save millions of dollars. Department Heads could just as easily do their work for the wages we are already paying. “They” say that the Commission just gives a certain amount of “independence” in certain departmental functions. It’s a high price to pay for that independence.
I agree with you that Ms. Lutkin will do a good job as CSC Commissioner. I don’t agree with you that the CSC is wasting millions of dollars. I was on the CSC for 3 years and at that time we were getting Mcdonalds level compensation with a small support staff of only 5. Give readers the hard evidence you have that the CSC is a multi million dollar boondoggle. Do you know how to read line items in a budget? That might be a good place to start. The contract investigators who do backgrounds are not even a component of the CSC any longer.