AURORA | The family of Kilyn Lewis, a Black man who was shot and killed by Aurora police during his arrest in 2024, has filed a second lawsuit against the city, alleging systemic failures in policies and training led to Lewis’ death.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, seeks to hold the city accountable for supporting and defending Aurora police officer Michael Dieck, who shot 37-year-old Lewis. It argues that the city’s policies and training allowed Dieck to violate Lewis’ constitutional rights and the city’s failure to discipline Dieck constitutes its approval of his unconstitutional actions.
“The city’s customs and practices caused APD officers, including Officer Dieck, to utilize inappropriate tactics and use unreasonable force against Mr. Lewis and to believe that the tactics used against Mr. Lewis and the use of deadly force against him would be tolerated, approved, or deemed within policy by the city,” the lawsuit states.
It calls the city “deliberately indifferent to the known and obvious consequences of its failure to adequately train, supervise, and discipline APD officers.”
In addition to the federal lawsuit, the Lewis family is also suing Dieck individually in Arapahoe County District Court. While Aurora was initially listed on the county lawsuit, the city has been removed from that case and a trial has been set for March 2027.
While the county lawsuit focuses on Dieck’s conduct, the federal lawsuit is directed at what it alleges as the systemic problems with the police department’s use-of-force policies and training, said Lisi Owen, an attorney for the Lewis family. Owen said the lawsuit was prompted because the city disregarded its obligation to condemn Dieck’s actions.
“Instead, what the city of Aurora has done is have his back, they’re defending (Dieck) both legally and politically,” Owen said. “That is the City of Aurora saying this type of conduct is what we expect of our officers and is perfectly acceptable to us. And that is not acceptable to the Lewis family.”
In an initial statement, city spokesperson Joe Rubino said Aurora had not been served with the lawsuit and cannot comment on pending litigation.
A follow up statement on Tuesday from City Attorney Pete Schulte said he was limiting his comments on the case to protect against prejudicing a court.
“Unlike the Plaintiff’s attorneys in this case, I will not make statements about the case that have the potential to wrongly influence the jury pool,” Schulte said. “The true facts will come out in a courtroom in the trial of this case.”
A previous statement from the city, released when the county court case was filed, reiterated that investigations have cleared Dieck of wrongdoing and said the city attorney’s office “will strongly defend the actions of the officer and the Aurora Police Department.”
The newest lawsuit claims city officials have ignored systemic issues that were identified by the 2021 state-imposed consent decree, which mandated police reform of use-of-force policies after finding a pattern of excessive force, particularly against people of color. The consent decree was put in place after the 2019 death of Elijah McClain and is still active through 2027.
Owen said the Lewis family’s lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages, as well as potential policy and training reforms.
“Aurora has already been ordered to stop killing unarmed Black men, and they can’t seem to get it together, and so one of the things that we’ll be seeking to discover in the lawsuit is why can they not get it together,” Owen said. “Once we know that, we can craft a hopefully more meaningful remedy.”
Lewis was shot May 23, 2024 after he raised his hands above his head, holding his cell phone in one hand, during an attempted arrest by an Aurora SWAT unit in connection with a separate Denver shooting. Dieck, who shot Lewis as he raised his arms, later said during an investigation that he thought the phone was a firearm.
The federal lawsuit says Dieck shot Lewis in the torso less than 10 seconds after exiting his police vehicle, without issuing any warning that he would shoot if Lewis did not comply with police orders. Officers also gave Lewis overlapping orders and Dieck did not use readily available less-lethal options, such as a 40mm launcher, according to the lawsuit.
After the shooting, the former Arapahoe County district attorney and a grand jury declined to seek criminal charges against Dieck, saying his actions were not outside the law. An internal investigation also determined Dieck broke no APD policies during the arrest and shooting, and Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said he would not pursue discipline in the case. Dieck was removed from the SWAT team.
As part of the consent decree, the city’s contracted police monitor investigated the Lewis shooting and questioned the utilization of the Aurora SWAT team to execute a Denver warrant and the decision not to use less-lethal tactics. However, the monitor agreed with the findings from the police department and judicial district that Dieck acted reasonably.
The lawsuit argues that the results of the city’s internal investigations and its ongoing defense of Dieck “constitutes an admission that APD policy or custom permitted deadly force in circumstances in which the Fourth Amendment forbids it.”
Though Dieck was not found to have violated any policies, the police department changed its SWAT procedures after the fatal shooting to include “a more rigorous approval process” for warrants, a new risk-assessment matrix and training enhancements. The lawsuit alleges that the changes prove that the policies were “inadequate” at the time of the shooting.
“The Lewis shooting is precisely the kind of predictable constitutional injury that adequate policies, training, supervision, discipline, and force-review systems are supposed to prevent,” reads the lawsuit.
No court dates have been scheduled yet for the lawsuit.
The City’s “obligation to condem” Diecks actions, is that right? Did the Sentinel even bother to inquire of the Plaintiff’s attorney from where such an obligation arises, legally speaking? If the suit does not have something more than this it should be tossed and Plaintiff’s attorney should be censured by the court on the court’s own motion. Even first year law students know you have to allege a cause of action upon which relief can be granted. I have always known the Sentinel has no journalistic standards, but my word, ask the obvious qeustion before publishing tripe.
Maybe someday, we will get a handle on the mess that is inner-city Black culture; a culture that turns out individuals responsible for 60% of violent crime in America despite being a small fraction of the population. Resisting arrest and ignoring police directives seems to be the norm with some of these individuals. But judging by the response of Black leaders, the attorney and family, we are a long way off from addressing the roots of the problem. Here is a man who when confronted by police, with a gun pointed at him, and ordered to get on the ground, and instead, decides to make a phone call first. He reaches behind him, where some often carry guns, and is shot. And the attorney wonders why unarmed Black men keep getting killed.
When a police officer orders me to get on the ground, I keep BOTHands visible and get on the ground.
I do not reach around my back where, it is well known, some criminals carry a gun.
Just do as ordered. Complain and protest later.
Who will the Aurora black activists sue next? The contracted police monitor who found Officer Diecks responded properly to their dead son’s actions. How about the Donald who hasn’t come to their rescue. How about the City Council member who called them terrorists. How about the State of Colorado and its Attorney General?
Can’t you see it was always, just about the money. You know it, I know it, the Sentinel Blog knows it and mostly the Lewis radical family and mother knows it.
Kilyn’s mother every day should ask herself, “Why didn’t I teach him better”, instead of every other week, for two years, standing before our City Council and we that watch those meetings, crying out that we are the ones to blame that she has a dead son. It makes me ill especially when we know it’s just to make her as wealthy as the McClain mom. Where is their personal responsibility?
Why don’t we hire only black cops? Then when they shoot a black male, it won’t be a race thing.
Maybe mama Jones should take some responsibility for raising someone who was wanted for attempted murder. If the guy had just stopped and put his hands up, he would still be here. That’s the accountability that needs to be accepted. And let us not forget that this is the family that Aurora Mayor Pro Tem Alison Coombs stands with at the public podium during city council meetings. As an elected official she is there to listen during public comments and should remain in her seat on the dais rather than participating in public comment. Coombs’ actions reek of collusion and conspiracy. A few questions need to be answered here. 1. Is Alison Coombs providing this family confidential information she has access to as a city official? 2. Is Alison Coombs helping this family orchestrate lawsuits against the city she was elected to serve? 3. Is Alison Coombs receiving kickbacks/bribes from this family for her support?
Well thought out, jerry. If any of the three questions could be answered, “yes”, there would be a real problem for Aurora’s black activist cases. I wonder if Pete is thinking along these lines? I hope so.
A review into these questions would, hopefully slow down or stop the future political activities of our lesbian, socialist Mayor Pro Tem. What an embarrassment she/it/them has become for the average Aurora citizen that looks up to local elected politicians. Someone needs to study her activities a bit closer.
Should any of us be surprised when the honorable Auon’ tai Anderson or a couple in his band of die-hards in an upcoming meeting trip and fall at a city hall meeting? Here comes the next round of otherwise self- inflicted renamed (racist-based) lawsuit against the city. Our own Mr. overstrained skull-cap thespian a slip and fall complaint would be textbook example of the city’s forced racial inequality.