There has been much public conversation and scrutiny about the recent change of leadership in the Aurora Police Department.
As the city manager, there are times when I must make difficult decisions. I take this responsibility very seriously. I always try to act in what I consider to be the best interests of our community, our city and our employees. The change in leadership of the Aurora Police Department is not about politics, or political pressure, as has been suggested. It is about evaluating performance and progress and doing what I believe is right. Period.
I want to make it abundantly clear where the city of Aurora is headed with public safety. We are not letting our foot off the gas on police change, building trust with the community and supporting our officers. As we have said many times before, we want and need the community to help define how we build the department that serves us all.
We will continue to push forward on changes I initiated and prioritized two years ago. This means:
We will expand on our community engagement efforts as we committed to in our Consent Decree with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and as a part of our U.S. Department of Justice Public Safety Partnership program.
We will remain focused on valuing our officers, supporting them with the tools and training they need to be successful, while holding accountable the few who don’t honor the profession or respect the community.
We will remain focused on reducing violent crime and protecting our residents and businesses while building trust and forging alliances and partnerships within our community.
These public safety priorities will remain unchanged under my leadership, no matter who is chief of police.
I recognize the competing narratives that exist about the timing of this change. Regardless, my decision was based on the need to pursue leadership that will effectively manage and build the department to bring about enduring transformation. It is about pursuing all avenues of success for Aurora–even when the right decision might not be the popular one.
We will soon begin seeking input from the community about the qualities and characteristics you want in the person who will serve as the next chief for the Aurora Police Department. Once we have applicants for that position you will have the opportunity to meet the candidates and provide your feedback and thoughts before any decision is made.
I look forward to your contributions and encourage you to reach out if you have questions about the process and how you can be involved.
Jim Twombly is the City Manager for the City of Aurora
Wow. I’ve lived in a lot of places and never seen so many people in a city govt gaslight their constituents like aurora does.
Twombly is and has been a failure for years now, it’s time for him to go.
TWOMBLY, should be removed from the position he holds, I don’t know how he got it. Although he said the firing of the Chief was not political, he is going to hear that for a long time.
A standing ovation for our City Manager. A true leader in our community!! Thank you Mr. Twombly for sharing your vision and your passion for our City and, for allowing the great citizens of Aurora a chance to meet the candidates for the new Police Chief once you’ve narrowed down your choices. Aurora has been through a lot during the past many years but, you have been the one steady and constant voice of reason for our City and for all the employees who work for you. For that, we are eternity grateful!
Just know that not all of us are “eternity” grateful.
It is simple. Don’t hire a new chief and keep the same executive leadership team in place now. If you do, you just get the same problem you have had for 2 chiefs and an acting chief. You want change for good, change the sycophants out.
Jim, you’ve betrayed the trust of your city.
As an unelected official you may feel there won’t be repercussions.
You are wrong. Resign now so the grown ups can get to work.
Phil
He’s got to go, and so does the incompetent hack Coffman. Talk about a ‘failure of leadership’!!!
Mr. Twombly, the characteristics that I would like to see in a police chief went out the door with the woman that you fired.
You caved. Now we can’t believe a word you say.
The upper staff of APD have needed to go for as long as I can remember. The public only know headlines. You can smile at them and act caring like all the police politicians ( Vanessa Wilson) we have had for the last forty years and they love you. You can call it a “police reform bill”‘ and the public will think it is wonderful without knowing anything. You can lie about systemic racism and not give the police any chance to defend with the facts and people will buy it. The problem now is that the lies have been perpetuated and they have not allowed the police to give you facts about anything. Now, they are saying that they want the police leadership to treat officers with respect and to develop trust. The police know that the underlying basis of the investigative report and the Attorney General’s report are lies. They know that what is happening has not only demonized them but has also paralyzed their ability to do effective police work. No, thousands of officers did not leave just because they are resistant to change and want to brutalize people.
Let us look at “police reform” so far. The police reform bill only had a few good points. Bodycams and transparency are good. Giving police officers vague wordings and guidelines on use of force that go directly against the guidelines established by the Supreme Court are bad. Making it easier to sue police officers after you just made it unclear what use of force is allowed, is bad. Making racial quotas that are contrary to what both the studies and police experience have shown is bad. Basing all of your police work on the flawed notion that the statistics should be proportionate is bad. Establishing long checklists for every type of encounter and requiring multiple layers of review and critique are bad. Establishing
excessive documentation is bad. When you make everything a huge production that will be reviewed by people who know little, you destroy any desire to do police work.
Aurora has painted itself into a corner. They are now stuck with a consent decree that says that they will pursue what the officers know is a lie. They will pick a chief who will happily pursue the flawed ideas that have been established without allowing any dissent. Then, they won’t understand why the officers don’t have any respect for their leadership.The officers will know that they have not been given the respect to even defend themselves or to voice facts about the reports that have been done already. Aurora has allowed itself to be labeled racist and brutal with no opportunity to dispute statements that lack facts. There are outright untruths and gross exaggerations in many of the reports that form the basis for the consent decree. Any claims by suspects are now accepted as fact based upon the previous uncontested statements by the Attorney General. It will result in a continued negative image any time a black suspect fights and large civil settlements. Meanwhile, the officers have already been taught that they cannot afford to get involved in stops. So, we are driving toward making law enforcement ineffective as well as hated. I have spoken to numerous officers from different agencies. They all have told me that they don’t do anything. When they don’t have enough respect for you to allow you to have any voice in what you do, why would you care anymore? Why would you risk being prosecuted by the same uninformed people who put you in the position of risk? Why would you want to count on the fact that they will favorably interpret their own vague guidelines when they established them to punish you? Why would you think they would listen to the facts and your explanation when they have systematically excluded you from any input so far? We are on a politically correct path that is damaging to the public safety. We are going to do even more to protect criminals from being stopped. Perhaps, someone should have asked the people who do the job what they think. Most chiefs are just politicians who are not respected by the officers for just that fact. They think what the headlines tell them to think. That is not a good basis for leadership. Unfortunately, that is where we are.