AURORA | Aurora swore in its seventh police chief in five years Monday afternoon amid even more bitter discord than the already turbulent city government is used to.
Todd Chamberlain, a 34-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, takes control of Aurora’s beleaguered police department while the city has been making national and international headlines as the epicenter of an election-season frenzy over undocumented immigrants in the U.S..
Far-right Aurora Council Member Danielle Jurinsky has for the past six weeks fomented both fear and anger over what she has described, often without basis, as lawlessness among Venezuelan migrants locally and rampant violence by members of a Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, otherwise known as TdA.
She has defended the owner of three blighted apartment complexes who, along with his attorneys, has claimed the buildings fell into neglect and disrepair because violent TdA members overran them, extorted rent payments from tenants and chased off property managers and maintenance crews.
Her warnings about an alleged Venezuelan reign of terror at the complexes have been echoed, to varying degrees, by Mayor Mike Coffman, and other conservative council members; U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, who is vying for a new congressional seat that abuts Aurora; John Fabbricatore, the Republican former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) field office director seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Jason Crow; dozens of conservative politicians and far-right media influencers; and even Donald Trump, who has been exaggerating the situation in stump speeches about what he falsely claims are “thousands and thousands and thousands of terrorists pouring into our country at record levels.”
“In Aurora, Colorado, entire apartment complexes are being taken over by armed Venezuelan gangs with weapons the likes of which even the military doesn’t see,” Trump said at a rally Saturday in Wisconsin. “They’re terrorizing residents and they’re just menacing the whole state … and the people are petrified. Even the sheriff, he’s trying his best, but he’s got a small force by comparison. This is like a military force. And they’re vicious, violent people.”
Closer to home, Jurinksy and Fabbricatore took aim at Aurora’s outgoing Police Chief Heather Morris, accusing her of covering up and downplaying TdA’s threat to the city when she said gang members have not in fact overrun the apartment complexes in question, as both have asserted.
Fabrricatore posted on X on Sunday that Morris, “Will be replaced tomorrow. She gaslighted the public about the apartments and knew about the gang violence for months. She should never hold another Chief position anywhere.”
Morris — who has left the department upon Chamberlain’s arrival — did not respond to an inquiry seeking her response.
Chamberlain, like Morris and the long string of recent police chiefs before her, will face the challenge of being candid with the public, even if it means contradicting the often politically motivated and false assertions of the council members he works for.
At Monday evening’s City Council meeting, civil rights activists berated city officials for rescheduling Chamberlain’s swearing in from the City Council meeting Monday evening to a less public event at police headquarters at 3 p.m.. They said that switch reflects the same lack of transparency and inclusion that surrounded Chamberlain’s appointment, which was made with no public input.
Mohamed Kuziez, a pediatrician in Aurora, described “the shadowy process” by which Chamberlain was hired as “alarming.”
Several activists equated the city’s secrecy around Chamberlain’s appointment to its lack of transparency about the May 23 shooting of Kilyn Lewis, an unarmed Black man, by Aurora SWAT Officer Michael Dieck. As they have at council meetings throughout the summer, they derided city officials for withholding information about the shooting from Lewis’s family, and for refusing to speed up the investigation into the incident, fire Dieck and criminally charge him for killing Lewis.
Still, the activists had another, more pointed message for Coffman and Jurinsky and at this week’s meeting: To stop exaggerating the presence of TdA in the city and demonizing Venezuelans and other immigrants.
Activist Leondard Lorton blamed Coffman for starting a “race war” with “unsubstantiated allegations.”
Activist Auon’tai Anderson admonished Jurinsky for spreading misinformation about Venezuelan migrants in what he called an attempt to seek an appointment in a Trump administration.
“How do you sleep at night?” he asked her. “Did you really think your lie was going to stick?”
To Coffman and Jurinsky, Lewis’ brother, Kiowa Lewis, asked God to forgive “y’all who are exhibiting evil” and denounced their “hate and racist agenda.”
A few of the public speakers on Monday expressed their concerns about the blighted apartment complexes at the center of the Venezuelan gang controversy and persistent gunshots they hear near them.
“The City of Aurora and Aurora Police Department have been aware of these issues for many months but did provide a reasonable response until this started getting media attention. Even then, they invested considerable attention trying to downplay these issues. Many of us in this community have felt ignored,” Shannon Peterson, a neighbor of the complex at 12th and Dallas streets that has received heavy media attention, told the Sentinel earlier Monday.
“I do not want to demonize an entire group of people,” Peterson’s neighbor, Maddy Schaffner, told the council. “I want to focus on removing dangerous people from our community. It doesn’t matter where they’re from.”
The council met in executive session Monday to discuss the city’s legal options regarding the blighted apartment complexes. One proposal is to post Aurora police officers at the complexes for at least two weeks in exchange for a promise from the owner to keep property managers on site.
The public-comment portion of the council meeting ended abruptly at 8:30 p.m. after comments by a call-in speaker who described himself as a white supremacist. He referred to Venezuelans and protesters as “shit-skinned” people. And, among other comments, he described Gov. Jared Polis — who has been critical of Jurinsky’s and Coffman’s handling of the Venezuelan controversy — as a “fa**** kike governor.”
Councilmember Crystal Murillo, a Latina woman, said later in the meeting she was unnerved by the unapologetic racist and threatening remarks. She said the recent rash of exaggerated allegations against immigrants has emboldened such public comment.
The protesters in the audience started chanting for council members to “apologize now” for allowing the caller on the line, and for the Venezuelan controversy in general.
All council members present at Monday’s meeting walked out of the chamber but for Murillo and Ruben Medina, both of whom have openly defended Venezuela immigrants in the community.
MiDian Holmes, an activist who has been helping organize recent demonstrations at City Hall, turned the cameras and spoke directly to the new police chief.
“I hope you understand and realize what you have stepped into,” she said. “You are now the permanent police chief behind leaders that are inciting individuals that have given clear warning tonight of what they plan to do.”
Tay Anderson needs to take his chunky melonhead back to Park Hill where it belongs, and the “activists” need to stop lying that there’s no Venezuelan gang activity in Aurora. Especially those stupid keffiyah-sporting softballs with the face masks.
“Remove dangerous people from our community” should be something that we can all support our police in doing, no matter if the offenders are youths with guns, gang members with guns, immigrants with guns, drunk drivers, domestic abusers, or felons suspected of murder who evade police.
It’s been made perfectly clear that Aurora’s City Councel has been fooled by its own members who made up “Gang”stories to further their own (Criminal) Agendas and party first mentalities. And then invited other (N*s%?) national members to join in their Racist immigrant bashing for their cause. Investigation might prove collusion between this collection of slugs and the very Slumlords and their counsel who should be condemnend!
The names of the instigators of this felonous assault on humanity, if not on arrest warrants, should at least be on record of the things not to listen to NO MORE!
This story, including the inflammatory comments by the call-in speaker at last night’s council meeting, was alarming. The caller’s comments were only slightly more hateful than comments I see on the Sentinel’s stories every day. Aurora has got to address its lack of civility and respect. It’s ugly and it’s now on display to the whole world.
We need to charge Jurinsky, Sundberg, Coffman, and Fabbricatore with incitement of violence
The far Right on Council and the far Left from within the community are both equally disturbing and detrimental to the overall good of the Community. I can and will vote against the At Large far Right council person next election. Join me.
How can you say that Jurinsky’s comments are without basis or that Donald Trump is exaggerating when there is video evidence!!! Maybe the TdA should come to your door!!!
Not to worry, eventually those that you fear will eventually become the slave holders instead of the slaves. (They reproduce at a high rate, others do not) Not really relevant if they come form the south, north, east of west or if they have white, brown or green skin. Some are dangerous criminals, most are not and no one will really care about their legal status as long as they will do all of the unpleasant things that I and you dislike doing. They will continue to be hired and will slowly work their way up to positions of power, wealth and influence and no one will remember their history and they will be the kings and queens of our very open free enterprise system. Such are the lessons of history.
Unlike Democrats who deny a gang problem. Danielle Jurinsky has been active with complaints. She has helped people under assault by the TDA and investigated the situation on site. The video speaks for itself. The management company hired a legal firm to conduct an investigation that described aspects of gang control.
Danielle Jurinsky has been on the side of residents in the buildings. She helped bring the gang control to public attention. Congressman Crow, Governor Polis, and other Democrats have not been on the ground to see the situation.
I have listened to Danielle Jurinsky in interviews. She is precise in her language. She has never asserted that gang control went beyond the 2 or 3 buildings. She has never asserted that TDA represents all Venezuelan immigrants. She has asserted that the APD, Aurora City Manager, and Governor have not acted to stop this problem.
Danielle Jurinsky’s opponents are downplayed the problem and refused to act. Somehow, gang takeover of 2 or 3 buildings is an isolated problem.
Thank you MM for your well written comment. I too, have been seeing the work of Mz Jurinsky although not as rosey or complimentarily as you do.
Which leads me to believe you are a Repub Troll which is the most likely. Or you might be someone related to Mz Jurinsky or perhaps Jurinsky herself. Both which are less plauseble but possible. Last, that you truely believe everything you’ve stated as fact. And if that is the case it is especially good to have another reason for ALL of us to vote this year. Please
I am not a troll. I am an informed voter, a highly informed conservative. I appreciate your reasonable response. I disagree with the tone with a personal attack on my judgement and character.
I have no relationship to Ms. Jurinsky. Please tell me the specific statements and assertions that Ms. Jurinsky has made that you disagree. The video of the gang was sent to Ms. Jurinsky.
The owners of the property appear to have had problems with maintenance. I do not excuse their contractual issues. The investigation by the law firm indicated that the gang forced employees of the management company off of 1 to 3 properties.
You and others on the left would be better served by cooperation with Ms. Jurinsky. She was on the ground in those buildings listening to complaints and investigating complaints. Those complaints appear to have been ignored and downplayed until Ms. Jurinsky went public.
Gangs taking over any complex is not acceptable. It is a serious criminal violation that should be promptly investigated and stopped.
You can tell the city is sitting in a pool of folly. Their credibility has been far from perfect for some time. But now these things are in such commotion it has caught up with them. This growing exposure of the structure of the city solely in charge of government over-site is what we all pay as taxpayers and pay attention to. We give them a lot of latitude with their decisions and otherwise afford them a good faith measure they are reliable and effective to run the city machine. The general problem we are dealing with as these city departments are long in their promised goals and short in their ability to fulfill them. The expected assumption exist that these duties are being covered. However, the reality of what we’re seeing is the obvious and significant breakdowns are easy to see.
As these departments staff leaders mush forward, they reassure everything is in good shape and my department is solid. Well, it’s not, and the cracks in the plaster now so evident it makes national news.
This letter from law firm- Perkinscoie sent over a month ago paint a chaotic picture that these apartments losing control to gang influence in the CBZ owned buildings. Further, what code enforcement showed us was a flimsy attempt and a little bit of effort for several years as these places became roots for slum town-USA. Following along with their own weak part, dragging their feet in repairs was likely a reaction to the neighborhood market. Nonetheless, these buildings were sick organisms, as it were, and not much seemed to matter to anyone. The non-profits didn’t seem too care much either. They kept sending people into the buildings and paying their rent. This absolute mismanagement all came to fruition. The Perkinscoie letter straightforwardly is fascinating as it is in direct conflict and goes against any of what Mayor Coffman, or what Chief Morris has stated to their– all is fine conclusions. What we don’t know yet if the FBI, and Homeland Security will look at this. If any Federal money is involved, there is a good chance, their coming to town to take their own readings. Tuesday, Mayor Coffman, (nothing to see here) offers four officers, two per the Dallas complex, two for the Whispering Pines for two weeks of patrolling. Whose benefit is that for as no one is at risk? We wiil look forward to comprehend that explanation when it comes. Those pesky gang members will disappear for a couple weeks, but not leave.
The myth the city is healthy sounds good but is coming up short. Citizens are tired of this city’s excuses. Monday night KDVR did a news piece of a troubled area, and of course the city has done little to take steps for law and order. https://kdvr.com/news/local/loud-gatherings-continue-on-south-havana-street/ The citizens are now holding the cities feet to the fire. The news stations are willing to show the handy-work of the short-cuts taken and now newsworthy of the end results what Aurora is unwilling to do.
Excellent balanced comment.
JJ – Well written. I appreciate your approach to MM’s point of view and overly gracious comments about Jurinsky. I don’t understand why people hide behind their political choices and slam others who see what’s right vs wrong. It’s evident that tenants list their homes due to these extreme circumstances, nothing has been done about it. Would I be wrong to ask – If this happened in Cherry Creek, would police presance be more expedient? Race vs polictics is a horrible game but allowed in the eyes of our cities.