AURORA | After a series of deadly incidents of law enforcement officers being targeted in other parts of the country, Aurora City Council members are making it clear: They stand firmly behind the city’s police officers.
In a letter dated Monday, July 18, Mayor Steve Hogan and the 10 elected council members declared “we are with you” to the members of the Aurora Police Department, adding they “wholeheartedly believe” in the job they are doing for the community.
“Should someone out there decide to illegally strike out against any one of you, rest assured we will support you, your family, your friends, and brothers and sisters on the force,” the letter reads. “We cannot stand in front of you, but we can stand with you, and let there be no doubt we are standing with you.”
The letter — without directly referencing recent events in Dallas, Texas, and Baton Rogue, La., in which police officers were targeted and killed — notes that “some in society have moved from respect for the rule of law, respect for community, and respect for each other, to a lack of respect for the very basics of what makes matters work in the world today.”
PDF: July 18 Letter from Aurora City Council to Aurora Police Department
A racially charged narrative has re-emerged in the U.S. due to fatal shootings of black men by white officers as well as the shooting deaths of eight officers in Texas and Louisiana. This round of violence — and protests against such violence — began and continued this weekend in Baton Rouge, La.
While Aurora has not seen any violence directly squarely at police such as the deadly shootings in Dallas and Baton Rogue, an Aurora police officer was attacked in December 2015 with a meat cleaver during a traffic stop on the off-ramp from Interstate 225 to East Alameda Avenue. The suspect in the attack was later killed by officers following a high-speed chase during a snowstorm.
Additionally, Aurora Police Officer Ryan Burns was shot in the leg during a November 2014 traffic stop. The attacker — Jahvell Forrest — was sentenced to 30 years in prison in March.
A spike in officer-involved shootings in Aurora in 2015 — four in a three-week stretch from Thanksgiving to mid-December — was cause for some concern on Aurora City Council, but police officials said that even that surge in officer-involved shootings did not elevate the year-end total beyond historical averages.
During a January Public Safety Committee hearing, Aurora Deputy Chief Paul O’Keefe said the eight officer-involved shootings last year were the same number tallied in 2011.
“We are exactly where we were,” he said.
Between 2011 and 2015, O’Keefe said there were a total of 28 officer-involved shootings, 19 of which were fatal.
#ThankYou to the Guarino family. They came by today delivering gift bags and personal cards to show their support! pic.twitter.com/aLBk5CNgUH
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) July 18, 2016
A group of Aurora police officers traveled to Dallas last week in a show of solidarity with that city’s law enforcement following the deadly shootout that claimed the lives of five officers and injured nine others. APD’s social media channels have highlighted an outpouring of support from the community from those expressing their concern for officers’ safety in the line of duty and their appreciation for the work they do.
— Sentinel reporter Brandon Johansson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.