Study Determines Aurora Police Have Pattern and Practice of Racially-Biased Policing

Over the last two years, the Aurora Police Department has consistently made headlines, locally and nationally. Generally, the stories are far less than favorable. On Wednesday, an announcement from Attorney General Phil Weiser added to the list of the department’s growing demerits, stating a Colorado Department of Law investigation team found that Aurora Police has a pattern and practice of violating state and federal law through racially biased policing, use of excessive force, and failing to record legally required information while interacting with the community. Additionally, the findings note that Aurora Fire has a pattern and practice of administering ketamine in violation of the law.

“Elevating policing and building confidence in law enforcement is a critical priority for the Department of Law. Our authority to conduct pattern and practice investigations is an important tool for advancing this goal. In this case, our team conducted a thorough examination—with the aid of the full cooperation of the City of Aurora—and developed important findings on how Aurora can come into compliance with the law and elevate the effectiveness and trustworthiness of law enforcement,” Weiser states.

The department notably made national news following the death of George Floyd, with the death of Elijah McClain the previous summer gaining increased visibility. McClain was a 23-year-old, unarmed Black man on his way home when police stopped him, citing a call from a concerned citizen.

When McClain told police, “I have a right to go where I am going,” an officer touched him, ignored McClain’s request for respect toward his boundaries, and soon after, a struggle ensued, which ended with McClain thrown to the ground, placed in a “carotid control hold” around his neck, and finally injected with too much ketamine for his body size. He suffered two heart attacks on the way to the hospital and was pronounced braindead three days later.

Other incidents followed: Last year, Aurora Police handcuffed four Black girls having a day out and getting their nails done together and pinned them to the ground after a mistaken traffic stop. Earlier this summer, Kyle Vinson, a Black man, was pistol-whipped and choked by an Aurora police officer, while another stood by without taking action. He suffered 13 blows to the head and required six stitches. These are just two recent examples following McClain’s death.

Investigators found that Aurora Police have used force against people of color almost 2.5 times more than white people, based on their relative percentage of the population. The Force Review Board’s annual use-of-force reports also show that nearly have of the individuals Aurora Police used force against were Black, even though Black resident make up only 15 percent of Aurora’s population.

The investigation also notes Aurora Police disproportionately interacted with and arrested non-white community members, arresting people of color 1.3 times more than white people based on population percentage alone.

The Department of Law strongly recommends that Aurora enter a consent decree with the department, which would require specific changes—and ongoing, independent oversight—to policies, training, record keeping, and hiring. The law gives the Department of Law 60 days to work with Aurora to reach an agreement on a consent decree to implement these changes.

“We want Aurora to succeed in these improvements and strongly believe that an agreement provides the best way to do so,” Weiser says. “Over the coming weeks, we look forward to working with Aurora and other stakeholders to create a consent decree that ensures these requirements are implemented promptly. We are encouraged by the city of Aurora’s interest in working with us to do so.”

Read the full copy of the report here.