Editor’s note: This story was published first on CPR.ORG
AURORA | Dozens of angry protesters briefly shut down an Aurora City Council meeting on Monday night. The crowd used a public comment period to express outrage over the fatal shooting of Kilyn Lewis by an Aurora police officer in May. Lewis had been holding a cell phone when he was shot by an Aurora police officer.
Defying security, the protesters refused to leave their banners and signs outside the chamber. They also ignored Mayor Mike Coffman’s request that they refrain from chanting and shouting, instead calling on the mayor to resign.
Numerous members of the group also took turns at the microphone demanding that Officer Michael Dieck be prosecuted for murder. Body-worn camera footage showed Lewis was unarmed when Dieck fatally shot him. At the time, SWAT teams were attempting to arrest Lewis in connection to an attempted homicide.
“Each and every time that a Black life is claimed, you sit up here with a posture that says this is just the way society goes,” activist MiDian Holmes told the council when it was her turn to speak. “Our community has always been resilient, right? We say that all the time. The Black community is resilient. The part we don’t don’t talk about is that it’s unjustified resilience.”
MiDian Holmes was among the demonstrators who briefly shut down an Aurora City Council meeting on Monday, June 24, 2024 in protest against Aurora Police Officer Michael Dieck, who shot and killed unarmed Kilyn Lewis in May.
During the public comment period, Aurora resident Robbie Dejonge pushed back against the demonstrators and said “all lives matter.” The protesters at first shouted her down. Then, they strode down the aisles from their seats, sat down in front of council members and began chanting and shouting, forcing Mayor Coffman to call a 20-minute recess.
When Council returned, the crowd allowed Dejonge to finish her comments. Then more attendees denounced Dieck, the Aurora police, Coffman and the council.
The shooting of black men usually unarmed just never seems to end. I watched that video. I wondered why the officer bothered to take a shot at that distance?
In the heat of the moment things can happen but this one seems suspect and I need more context. A formal full investigation needs to happen.
An ex-con, wanted for attempted murder who hide his empty hands from the police and then showed them forth, suddenly, then with an object in his hand.
Trial by cop, suspected and guilty as assumed so just shoot. How 10 cops in armour can be afraid of a guy they snuck up on us amazing to me. And the fact we assume people will act logically when confronted like this is ridiculous. Your rights are being erroded every time this happens and you’re just letting them be taken away.
I agree, I have watched the video several times, and it is clear why he was shot. He is an ex-con who is wanted for murder, he was given commands to raise his hands and not to move. Instead of doing what he was told he turns away from the police and starts reaching for something and then turns back toward the police and suddenly brings his hands into sight and is holding something and to me his moves look threatening no question about that. As an officer, I am going home to my family tonight and I shoot, if he had complied and done what he was told, he would be alive in jail tonight. He decided to not comply and was shot for it and rightly so. Sorry but not every black man shot by police in Aurora a constitutional violation done by a bad cop in an out-of-control department that is out to get blacks. Sorry, no matter how bad you want to believe it, it is just not true. This was a known felon who was now wanted for murder and he made threatening moves and was shot in a justified good shoot by the officer involved. If the officer had not made the decision to shoot when he did, we could have several cops shot and he would still be on the streets committing more murders and crimes because he was a criminal. He might have been a family man like his family claims but he was still just a criminal whose life ended the same way he lived. Violently. His family needs to stop interrupting council meetings and preventing the business of the city from being conducted. Your family member was a known criminal and possibly a murderer and was shot and killed solely because of his actions and no one else is responsible or to blame but him. Period
Aurora police have a racist problem in their department. Cops are too quick to pull a gun on black people. Reading this paper for years and seeing so many blacks killed by cops I agree the city council is failing the people of Aurora. Millions upon millions paid by tax payer because of wrongful killings
How much regard for human life did Kilyn have while he was shooting randomly out his car windows? (If that allegation is true.) He’s not an innocent man, like Elijah was. I still grieve for Elijah, and yes, the APD is a disaster, but Kilyn wasn’t playing violin for orphaned kittens at the animal shelter, I’ll put it that way. You can’t live your life on your own terms without the consequences. This is (supposed to be) an ordered society where people don’t drive along shooting at each other. We’re all a little safer without Kilyn in the car next to us. That’s just the truth. I’m not grieving for a drive-by shooter who didn’t comply with police commands. I’m a liberal Democrat who believes in accountability, one who is disgusted by the crime rate in the state and the way we pander to the criminals that terrorize us. Yes, systemic racism is an epidemic in the APD, but this guy screwed up, and it sounds like he had a really bad habit of screwing up. And maybe the officer made the wrong choice, too, but Kilyn won’t be committing any more attempted murder. He’s obviously very loved by his family, but don’t turn him into a martyr.
To the leaders of the African American community, I would suggest this: Spend more time encouraging your youth to seek out careers other than “career criminal” rather than always blaming others for poor outcomes. There are too many ways this can go awry. Our prisons are full of young Black men who are just beginning their criminal careers. Most of them will sadly be deprived of a long and fulfilling life. Most will die prematurely at the hands of other Blacks. A few will die at the hands of police while being apprehended. The solution does not lie in the blaming of others, but in taking personal responsibility for the outcomes of one’s choices in life. Therein lies the opportunity to turn these unfortunate outcomes around.
I just watched my tape of last nights City Council meeting. I watched the public released tapes of the attempted arrest of Mr. Lewis. I seem to see things different than last nights mob. I have always believed that if you, “follow the money” you will solve most crime and/or dilemma’s in life and business.
This is just the next chapter in Aurora’s black activists and community pursuing funds under the disguise of police injustice, white racism and nobody cares if I live or die.
Did most of you notice how many speakers were apparent members of the Democratic Social Party? Do you think they want what is best for you and our community? Do any of you understand the problems that Alison Coombs is trying to bring upon our community with her anti-community thoughts?
I hope and pray that the leadership of the Aurora community fights this case to the bitter end and does not succumb to the black activists making something out of nothing.
Finally, a thank you to City Councilperson Hancock who understands the issues, is quite well spoken and will take on enormous personal problems from the radical black community. I’m sorry, in advance, for the heat you will take for your spoken words but rest assured you are gaining a following for your knowledge of what is right for Aurora. Thank You.
Mr. Lewis’s death is tragic to be sure. While everyone can appreciate the deep emotions people have, decades of case law and police training all over the country have established that the officer did his job exactly as he was trained. If you want police to not do what they’re trained, then the police profession needs to be eliminated across the country and much of the world which will not and should not happen. Those officers, per their training, had to approach Mr. Lewis as a high risk given the first-degree murder arrest warrant he was facing and his serious criminal record going back many years. He was a fugitive who would have had a greater likelihood of having a weapon over someone who was truly an innocent victim like Elijah (God rest his soul). That’s a fact. There are a lot of people in this metro area and state who quietly agree with many of the activists’ calls for police reform, but this case is NOT the one to highlight and use.
Shouldn’t non-lethal shots be mandatory? The guy was standing pretty still. How about a shoulder or leg? Training is pathetic/non-existent
I watched the Council meeting last night.
I am appalled at the family, friends and speakers who disrupted the council meeting. The lack of respect toward the general public with shouting, calling names and minimal acknowledgment of rules and guidelines set forth indicate, to me, a group of people who have a single agenda and do not or will not listen to facts.
I understand their grief and pain. However, the officers present on that call had seconds to determine what the deceased had in his hand or why he chose not to listen to the officers. They were there to arrest Mr.Lewis on a legally issued warrant for attempted murder. It would be reasonable to be concerned he he was reaching for a gun.
That being said, Council Member Coombs wanting to have a resolution from the council an apology to the family shows her anti police bias.
Officer Diecks deserves to have the investigation into this incident be investigated completely. He also has the right to be treated fairly, respectfully and to be supported by the City Government and the Police Dept.
i’ve been a citizen of aurora for more than 27 years, veteran, voter, homeowner if you think this sitting city council deserves respect YOU have not been paying attention!!!!
It’s sad that this man’s life ended but, he wasn’t exactly a choir boy. He had a warrant out for his arrest and he knew that. Turn yourself in if you know you’re innocent. When you don’t obey commands by the police bad things happen to white, black, yellow or any men or women . Sorry to say this but, I blame his parents. Obviously, he didn’t get and have the right upbringing and path forward, morals, values and obviously didn’t know right from wrong as he was and ran with the wrong crowd. Cops and Swat are trained to shoot and kill only if necessary. Split second decisions are made. Again, Kilyn wasn’t exactly a choir boy and he made some wrong decisions not only that night but, previous nights as that’s why a warrant was issued for his arrest. Stop committing crimes is basically the moral to this story.