AURORA | Aurora’s new police chief will take questions from the public later this month at an event facilitated by an Aurora state senator.
The hour-long meet-and-greet is scheduled for Oct. 24, six weeks after Todd Chamberlain swore in Sept. 9 as the seventh person in five years to lead Aurora’s beleaguered police force.
The announcement of his appointment in late August drew criticism among activists and civil rights watchdogs who decried city management and council members for making the hire without public input.
The Aurora Police Department is under a state order, called a consent decree, imposed in 2021 after an investigation by the Colorado attorney general that found “patterns and practices” of excessive use of force, especially against people of color. The decree requires APD to mend its ways by 2027.
Since appointed, Chamberlain has led the department through new controversies, including false accusations made by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump of the city being overrun by Venezuelan gangs and a May 23 officer involved shooting of an unarmed Black man during his arrest.
Facilitated by Democratic state Sen. Rhonda Fields, the question and answer session is scheduled from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Dayton Street Opportunity Center, 1445 Dayton St. in Aurora.
Space is limited, so community members are urged to pre-register here to attend.