Aurora can teach the nation — and especially Ferguson, Missouri — some lessons when it comes to running a police department that serves and protects rather than antagonizes and intimidates a community.
But Aurora, too, can learn from the tragedy in that suburban city as officials here search for a new police chief and ponder local police oversight.
It’s nearly impossible to imagine Aurora making the seemingly endless gaffes made by police outside of St. Louis, Missouri, during the past several days since white officer Darren Wilson shot to death black teenager Michael Brown, prompting a string of violent protests.
Aurora has for decades been a model, modern police department, embracing community policing. Aurora police officers embody the mission and philosophy of a civilian police department: to help residents in trouble and protect them, even if they’re caught as criminals or scofflaws. To further that philosophy, police a few years ago moved away from uniforms and other designs that gave police a military look. Instead, former police chief Dan Oates insisted cops wear old-style police hats and drive cars with a decidedly friendly look. When illegal immigration problems heated up in the city, Aurora police made it clear they will not act as federal immigration agents, even though such pushes have become politically popular in some places in Colorado. Aurora police are trained to handle criminal and civilian incidents with respect, authority, sympathy and some humor. In most cases, that’s just what they do, and residents here should be proud of how successful the department is despite how difficult it is.
But Aurora is a large department, there are more than 600 cops, and there are occasional problems and failures. Police administrators were recently unsuccessful in firing police officer Chris Falco, who two years ago killed a young car-parts burglar and seriously wounded another after violating department policy and firing into the thieves’ moving car. And Aurora is no stranger to racial distrust in the past. In a handful of incidents during the past 30 years, Aurora police have been accused of being heavy-handed or unfair to minorities, especially young minorities.
But Aurora has repeatedly been proactive after these rare incidents, creating entire departments that focus on the relationship among the city’s myriad cultures and police. Rather than alienate minorities, Aurora police work hard to gain their trust as the agency that serves and protects everyone equally. They’re not perfect, but they’re light years ahead of places like Ferguson.
If Aurora were to focus on the most important lesson the Ferguson calamity has taught the entire nation, it’s about transparency. No matter what the outcome of investigations into Brown’s death reveal, police and government officials there have made egregious and repeated errors by holding back information in such an explosive situation.
For Aurora to continue to enjoy its reputation of professionalism and fairness, it’s important that the city move forward with a plan to create a police oversight board that can quickly react to a Ferguson situation if it were to happen here. The tentative structure of an oversight panel Aurora lawmakers are looking at now gives little more than lip service to the goal of transparency. Such a panel must be autonomous from police and politics, and it must have authority to investigate and report to the public, and no one else.
Mayor Steve Hogan is spot on saying that now is the time to create an oversight panel, regardless of what it is, before such an entity is needed and not already tried and true. City council needs to complete this important job now.
First off, the teenage in question was an 18 year old Man 6’3″ 290 lbs who was a suspect in a strong armed robbery minutes before, who beat an officer so severely the officer could lose sight in that eye, he also charged the officer after the beating. The first shot was fired within the patrol car as the Man attempted to take the officer’s gun.
The information on the officer was withheld because of the threats on the officers life. It was released within 1 week. Those out of town rioters would have looted anyway. Take a look at the arrest records. 93% were from out of town and 26% were from out of state.
That said, I do think the police need oversight and it is important to demilitarize the police. The police in Ferguson only aggravated the problem the way they responded. Their initial display of strength was nothing less than a standing army.
We have a growing problem of officer involved shootings even locally. The soda can shooting comes to mind. I think we could learn some lessons from overseas on ways to handle volatile situations without deadly force. Iceland is as an example has had 1 police shooting resulting in death in the last 70 years.
I severely disliked Dan Oates for his approval of the unconstitutional search of 40 citizens, but i do appreciate that he attempted to tone down the police force.
Every encounter I have had with the APD has been friendly and encouraging. They are understaffed but have helped keep Aurora as one of the safest cities in the US.
let’s wait until all the information has been collected about the
shooting and killing of Michael Brown. Your statement that
the officer was beat so severely the officer could lose sight in
that eye was reported on Fox news. . . doesn’t make it
true.
An incident report involving the other man who was shot and killed in
Missiouri who brandished a knife was released immediately.
Why hasn’t an incident report concerning the killing of Michael
Brown been released?
Something stinks to high heaven.
Something stinks to high heaven.
You have that right, but for wrong reasons. With the population of Ferguson, Mo, only 17% of whites and 6% of blacks voted in 2013 municipal elections. With all the businesses lining that street, with modern looking business stores, it must be a bedroom community, in a wide spot in the road to somewhere else. If those citizens don’t know their police, and police only see the criminals, they are lucky some other dumb smuck did not attack a policeman or women before and get killed. And Michael Brown was not a gentle giant, except to his parents. Anyone who thinks a near 300 lb, 6ft, 4 inch bully is unarmed, had better buy a 45 caliber. Patrolman Darren Wilson obviously had too small caliber gun if it was 9 mm automatic. Just lucky that Michael lowered his head so bullet would enter top of head, come out through the eye, which would kill instantly. Anywhere else on his body, even heart or lungs and he would still have killed the officer. In my youth (about 20) I shot a deer in WV in side shot, with deer poised to run. Through the heart and lungs, and that deer ran over 1/4 mile before laying down and bleeding out. Watched my father shoot beeves and hogs on farm in my growth years, and though they were dead, their body still kicked and tried to run. If you watched any real war photos taken in WWII by military photographers, the human body can take a lot of damage before dying. Mike was out of control, as shown in store video. AND THE SAME RABLE ROUSERS FROM SANFORD FLORIDA WHO MADE A GLOBAL CASE OF TRAYVON MARTIN’S DEATH WERE PRESENT IN FERGUSON IN FIRST 2 DAYS AFTER SHOOTING. SAME SCRIPT, AND THE AFTER EFFECTS ARE TAKING SAME ROUTE. TRASH THE POLICE, POLICE CHIEF, CHANGE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MOVE CASE TO BE HEARD BY HANDPICKED JUDGE AND INVESTIGATORS. Can only hope Missouri Jury will examine the evidence presented, since the witnesses so far on television, have all lawyered up. And don’t forget to check history of NBA (National Bar Assoc.). They want their own version of Justice, with only Negro (black) (African Americans) whatever who parallel better known ABA. Rich living off racial cases, and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are there to throw gasoline on the fiames.
APD is great, they have always been more than fair, honest, friendly, and professional in my dealings with them. I wouldn’t want their job for anything, but I love knowing that if they are called out for something, they will be there and will do their job the right way. I’m not sure I agree with another entity of oversight for them. I would rather have more citizen involvement, more neighborhood watch and more communication with the public at all times, not just when a problem comes up. Put yourselves in their shoes.
The neighborhood watch program in this city has become a joke and a shadow of it’s former self. You can thank Oates, Noe, Council and the Citywide Coordinator for that one.
There is no incident report. The police officer that shot and killed Michael
Brown did not fill out one. I find that disturbing and rather odd. So the
police officer can now craft his story after listening to eye witness accounts.
As I said before. . .something really stinks.
Leroy,
When an officer is involved in a shooting, he or she does not write a report. This is protocol. You’re totally ill-informed. There’s a blaring reason why, but I’ll let you think it through.
there is no report from any police agency that indicates
what exactly happened from the officer’s point of view.
No where is that information available.
If you know of “a blaring reason why”, please share with our
readers.
The officer will be allowed to testify during the Grand
Jury Investigation. This also stinks. He has heard the
eye witness testimony, and can structure his testimony
on his behalf.
Leroy: You got that wrong. Officer Wilson did file report, but the County Police took over the investigation, for the Ferguson Police Force. Then the Governor got involved and sent the commander of that area Highway Patrol to take over the security and situation. When shooting and looting occurred the next night, Governor activated the Missouri National Guard and the heavy, military equipment showed up with tear gas and rubber bullets. Lot of misinformation came out from the MSM, even to one TV host holding up rubber ear plugs as being bullets. Really wall qualified on gun stuff. And the Police Dispatcher was told not to call business owners or managers to tell them their business was being looted, since they did not want them mixing with angry crowd carrying guns. Today I read article on net of business owners (gun store and tattoo parlor) who gathered some friends and secured their whole strip store areas from looters. One did get broken window. We had over reaction by a no-risk Governor who used to be a prosecutor, who raised the investigation to State level, but forgot to tell media who was in charge. Then Eric Holder arrived on scene, having dispatched his civil rights abuse section to find a case, and involved the president (taking 10 minutes of his golf game to make a statement blaming the police). So lets get the confusion and blame on the right heads. County Police did have incident report but held it. They were angry that Ferguson Police Chief disclosed the video showing Brown and partner as common thieves, but that was necessitated by a freedom of information act by the MSM.
Also until few years ago Ferguson was white owner occupied. But policies in last 6 years drove auto business overseas, except for assembly, and White Flight from Ferguson occurred. Property Tippers bought properties, and rented them out, waiting for increase in valuation to sell. Now have abut 63% black residents (most did not demonstrate, pillage, or burn stuff) with only 3 black police officers on force of 53. But only 16% of whites voted in municipal elections last year, with only 6% of blacks. Pretty sorry when on 1900 voted out of 21, 000. How many of those blacks are educated and could qualify for police, or would want to. Sorry to be so long, but facts are facts. All the truth will come out when Trial is held years from now. Shame that 18 year old could create such a mess for others.
PERRY, WHAT DOES THIS SHOOTING IN FERGUSON, MO., HAVE TO DO WITH MY HUSBAND’S SHOOTING 3 YEARS AGO IN AURORA, CO., SHOOTING? ARE YOU FUKN CRAZY. … YOU ARE A VERY SICK EDITOR. Mrs. Falco
PERRY, YOU NEED SOME SERIOUS MENTAL HELP….REGARDING ISSUES WITH OFFICER FALCO TO MENTION HIM IN THIS FERGUSON SHOOTING.. REALLY, WE NEVER BEEN THERE.
Your playing with fire and going on 3 years, we are going to get the public to terminate you.
Complaints on DAVE PERRY;
coloradojmf@gmail.com
You fukn piece of shittttttt !!!!
PERRY, YOUR NOT LIKED TO SOME OF THE PUBLIC AND I WILL BE GETTING A PETITION OF AURORA RESIDENTS ON YOUR CHILDNESS BEHAVIOR AND MAYBE I JUST MAY PROTEST NEAR YOUR BUILDING.
YOU JUST GAVE US ANOTHER ARTICLE TO USE AGAINST YOU.
OFFICER FALCO HAS BEEN CLEARED, JUSTIFIED OF HIS SHOOTING 3 YEARS AGO. YOU WERE AT THE HEARING HE IS ALL CLEARED UP EXCEPT FROM YOUR ANGER OF THE DUI …YOU GOT FROM THIS OFFICER. YOUR A DRUNK AND STOP PUTTING MY HUSBAND’S NAME IN ANY OTHER ARTICLE COME ON 3 YEARS AGO AND YOU ADD HIM TO THE FERGURSON SHOOTING….really !!!!
Are you that mad really?
Your a drunk with DUI’s and hate this Aurora officer to mention him in shooting in Ferguson, Mo., he was never there and officer falco name has been cleared from a shooting three years ago.
What is your problem!!
Mrs. FALCO
DUM DUM PERRY….
FERGUSON SHOOTING HAPPENED WEEKS AGO, SO WHY DO YOU MENTION IN YOUR NEWS Article of a SHOOTING OF OFFICER FALCO, IN COLORADO THREE YEARS AGO, THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FERGUSON AND THE SCENARIOS ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE. PERRY REMEMBER A STOLEN SUV ATTEMPTED TO RUN OVER TWO OFFICERS, AND THEY WERE NOT AFICIAN AMERICANS SO WHY PUT THESE TWO SHOOTINGS TOGETHER. YOUR A DRUNK AND STOP USING MY HUSBAND’S NAME IN YOUR ARTICLES…ASSSS HOLEE.
OFFICER FALCO .. KEEPS BEING HARASSED BY DAVE PERRY, CHIEF EDITOR OF AURORA SENTINEL.
Anyone out there that knows how he can be stopped, please give your advise. APD can’t do anything because he is a news hacker or thety would, this has to stop Mrs.Falco
Remember, that Dave Perry’s story starts off of the Ferguson, MO., shooting and you tell me how a Colorado officer gets in this story??
He is an angry drunk and got caught thinking he can slander him.
Public, I am so sick of PERRY and BRANDON’S articles they are not professionals and need to be STOPPED.
At this juncture, and with all the evidence provided, why would this paper continue to say Officer Falco killed one and wounded another? The wounded, was shot by Officer McIrvin.
At least one Aurora Sentinel writer was present when the ballistic findings were revealed in the Civil Service hearing.
The DA, a District Court Judge, and the Civil Service Commission (twice), all found the shooting to be justified in spite of Oates’ “policy”. Meaning, the car-part burglars tried to kill our officers with their vehicle that night.
Dave Perry attended this hearing and sat listening to what this Ashley is saying what a creep to continue to edit the same thing over & over. Dave Perry was there I saw him, he heard everything that I heard and this Ashley is 100% correct about a shooting 3 years with Officer Falco.
Perry being a drunk DUI rumor editor maybe you need to note what Ashley states before you write nonsense so you remember that you keep slandering a Aurora cop going on 3 years. So, re-read the hearing results from Ashley since you were there and I saw you at this same hearing?
What don’t you get? Stay off the bottle. Officer Falco is an Aurora police officer, who is cleared, justified and name cleared so why do you continue to throw his name especially is the recent Ferguson shooting, he was never there and Officer Falco’ step sister is BLACK, do you have a problem with black people Perry?
Read Ashley’s comment even though you were right there. Ashley is a correct and very smart editor regarding this issue on a long 3 year shooting Officer Falco. You were there and heard it all, so why do you continue …..didn’t you get it like the 25 other people in that same hearing including this Ashley and I, everyone did? Pick on someone else you paper hacker, we hate you to but we can’t write about you then hide behind a small news paper of all your lies like you do. Thank you Ashley for educating the public and hopefully Dave Perry, but I assure you in 5 years from now we’ll still keep hearing Perry …on Falco unless suing Aurora Sentinel stops him or he checks in rehab or is he just obessed with the Falco’s, or the verdict on being cleared, cleared, and cleared and justified a justified shooting with his name finally cleared by his own police department. In 51 seconds three years ago, these officers had to decide who lives or dies Officer Falco shot the criminal driver speeding at them, and Officer McIrvin shot the now, paralyzed criminal both Officers are cleared of this tragic shooting.
So officer falco shoots a guy and that is wrong that tried to kill him, however Deputy Chief Macgregor can have an affair with another officer’s wife and that is OK?