AURORA | Some Aurora lawmakers seeking to create a new police oversight are asking for community input.
“Police oversight can benefit not only the individual complainant, but also the larger community, police and sheriff’s departments, and even elected or appointed officials,” the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement said in a statement. “The actual benefits that occur depend on how well the involved groups work together and the type of model implemented.”
Councilmember Gianina Horton cited the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement in a statement announcing the information event.
The newly elected city council members seem to be hitting the ground running since before the new year, creating multiple community engagement events on topics including the Aurora Police Department, the Aurora Consent Decree, and a potential new oversight board that will tie it all together.
The Consent Decree, imposed by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in 2021, followed investigations into the Aurora Police Department’s excessive use of force and discriminatory practices, particularly against people of color. Triggered in part by the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who died at the hands of police and rescuers after being stopped, unarmed, the decree mandates broad reforms in training, accountability, use-of-force policies, data systems and community engagement.
Council members Horton and Amy Wiles both previously served on the Aurora Consent Decree Community Advisory Committee, a group described as an independent body involved in the implementation of consent decree, though critics say it is neither independent nor does it real oversight.
The City of Aurora and Attorney General Phil Weiser agreed in the consent decree to develop an independent monitor and a community advisory committee for oversight. Many critics of the implementation so far, including Wiles and Horton, say that the paid police monitor, IntegrAssure, is not independent, as the company is hired by the city, and that the advisory committee has no real authority.
Other critics have long argued that the entire police department itself, not just implementation of the consent decree, should be under independent oversight. Currently, the police chief reports to city management.
Both Horton and Wiles, along with the rest of the progressive bloc that won the recent election, campaigned for what they say should be a truly independent oversight board with real “teeth” and the ability to weigh in on police training and policies.
Council members Horton and Wiles will hold two upcoming events to educate the community about civilian oversight of the police and to gather community input.
The first listening session will be Jan. 13 to give the community the opportunity to learn about independent civilian oversight of law enforcement and the historical efforts taken in Aurora, according to a statement from Horton.
The second event will be Jan. 29, and will cover the design and functionality of an oversight officer. It will also allow the community to weigh in on what they would like to see.
Both events will run from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Aurora Center for Active Adults, 30 West Del Mar Circle.
Horton and Wiles are requesting that those who want to attend RSVP through an Eventbrite link below, as a light dinner will be provided.
www.eventbrite.com/e/1979290243399?aff=oddtdtcreator
Here’s a sensible idea. For every past black radical, protester, or socialist Aurora citizen that you appoint to this Board, you select an equal number of citizens that understand real policing and that can evaluate a set of circumstances without hatred of police departments.