AURORA | Aurora city officials and members of the public are invited to a community forum Wednesday night at the Dayton Street Opportunity center in response to the shooting of 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson earlier this month by police.
Richardson was killed after running from what Aurora police say was the scene of an armed robbery. After he was tackled by one officer, a struggle ensued, and another officer shot Richardson in the stomach, which led to the boy’s death.
The incident has prompted protests, with activists comparing Richardson to other young Black males who died following encounters with police, such as Elijah McClain. Criticism of the department and interim Chief Art Acevedo has intensified since Friday, when Acevedo revealed that his previous statements about Richardson having a firearm were incorrect.
Maisha Fields, daughter of state Sen. Rhonda Fields, said Wednesday’s event will include the Richardson family and representatives from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Aurora’s City Council, the American Civil Liberties Union, a firm tasked with monitoring the police department’s compliance with mandated reforms and other groups.
She said the police department has declined to send a representative. In addition to being an opportunity for conversations among community members, she said the event will give organizers the chance to share body-worn camera footage that police released at a Friday press conference.
“There’s been no new communication with the family or community members since the press conference, which some people were denied access to,” she said. “And the consent decree requires them to be transparent every step of the way.”
Police have insinuated Richardson may have been in possession of the realistic-looking pellet gun at the time he was shot, though the body-worn camera footage sheds little light on the moment of the shooting, and Acevedo did not weigh in definitively Friday.
The event is scheduled to last from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The center is located at 1445 Dayton St. in Aurora.