A poster in memory of Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6, is shown at the memorial to victims of the Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting, Friday, July 27, 2012. It's been almost a year since the fateful July 20 Aurora theater massacre that's changed the emotional landscape in Aurora. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

AURORA | Aubrey Dearman, 7, wanted to do something not just in remembrance of her cousin, but something for the community.

Aubrey’s cousin was Veronica Moser-Sullivan, the youngest victim of the 2012 Century theater shooting, and Aubrey’s idea was to sell lemonade and iced tea to benefit the 7/20 Memorial Foundation and the planned Reflection Memorial Garden near city hall.

Moser-Sullivan, Veronica. One of 12 victims in the Aurora theater shooting on July 21, 2012. Photo courtesy the family.
Veronica Moser-Sullivan, Veronica. One of 12 victims in the Aurora theater shooting on July 21, 2012. Photo courtesy the family.

That idea for a lemonade stand grew into a ceremony, color guard and all, on Saturday, Sept. 5, where Aurora police posthumously swore in Moser-Sullivan an an honorary Aurora police officer at Nick’s Garden Center in Aurora.

The honor, bestowed with Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz and District Attorney George Brauchler in attendance, came about after Chief Metz learned that Veronica had once professed a desire to be a police officer when she grew up.

Veronica’s parents, Ashley Moser and Ian Sullivan, originally did not plan to attend the ceremony but later changed their minds and were on hand.

Brauchler, one of the first speakers at the event, brought a moment of levity in joking he would spend the next hour talking – as it were, the elected D.A. and lead prosecutor in the recently ended Aurora theater shooting trial was quite concise in spending his time acknowledging the two girls the group gathered there for: Moser-Sullivan and Dearman.

“Two separate girls: one taken from us and one who wants to give to us,” Brauchler said, who said events such as the lemonade stand give him hope that Aurora be defined by positive events such as the one on Saturday. “I’m impressed by that and I am moved by that.”

Metz then addressed the crowd before formally presenting badge plaques to Ashley and Ian.

“Veronica, you will forever be our special guardian angel,” Metz said. “And it’s time for you to put on your uniform and your wings and to watch over your aunts and uncles in the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Department and help us protect this incredible city. We love you.”

Lines then formed after the ceremony in the Nick’s parking lot for the actual fundraiser sales organized by Dearman.

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