Aurora lawmakers vote against apology to Kilyn Lewis’ family as protesters against police shooting return to City Hall

By Max Levy/The Sentinel

Following a raucous meeting last month in which protesters booed and shouted down members of the Aurora City Council, conservative city councilors tried unsuccessfully Monday to stop the same group from speaking publicly about the fatal shooting of Kilyn Lewis by Aurora police.

The crowd of dozens – which one council member described as “terrorists” – filed in silence before the start of the bi-weekly council meeting, raising their hands in tribute to the gesture the unarmed 37-year-old made the moment he was fatally shot by police officer Michael Dieck.

The protesters sat during the first public comment period, which gives the public the opportunity to address the council on items not on the evening’s agenda.

The matter of Lewis’ death was on the agenda in the form of a proposed formal apology to his family, seconded by Councillor Alison Coombs. While some protesters took the floor and told the council they would save their comments for the agenda item, most sat in silence.

After the public comment period expired, the council voted 8-2 to remove Coombs’ item from the agenda.

This procedural maneuver resulted in the public being prevented from speaking to Council about Kilyn Lewis’ death because the time available to speak on non-agenda matters had expired.

It didn’t work. After watching for nearly an hour and not being given a chance to speak, protesters, led by former Denver Public Schools board member Auon’tai Anderson, began chanting Lewis’ name.

As they had done two weeks earlier, protesters marched down the steps of the Paul Tauer Council Chamber, chanting with their hands raised, while the mayor and other council members who had tried to prevent the group from speaking left the room through a door behind the council podium.

“We approached your podium peacefully,” Anderson said, telling those in attendance that the group would continue the meeting on its own terms. Because the council had attempted to turn away protesters even though the group had followed the rules, “this meeting now belongs to us.”

The disturbance was the latest in a series of protests that have taken place at the Aurora Municipal Complex since June 20, at which point Aurora police had released a compilation of body-worn camera footage showing the May 23 shooting of Lewis.

The footage shows a team of several police officers armed with rifles confronting the 37-year-old as they attempt to arrest him on a warrant for attempted premeditated murder. As the officers yell at Lewis to get on the ground, he reaches into his pocket. He then raises his open hands, one of which is holding a cellphone, and is shot once in the stomach by Dieck.

Acting Police Chief Heather Morris admits in the video released by APD that Lewis was unarmed.

On July 8, Lewis’ family and supporters confronted the council about the shooting for the third time at a regular meeting. While the meeting finally continued in the council chamber on June 24, the mayor and other conservatives did not return on Monday and instead continued the rest of the council’s agenda in an adjoining room.

Coombs stayed behind, as did fellow progressive council member Crystal Murillo, who also voted against removing the apology resolution from the agenda. During their parallel meeting, protesters again condemned what they called a pattern of racist violence by Aurora police and expressed grief over the death of Lewis, who was black.

“He was a good, gentle man. The children in my family called him Uncle Johnny,” said Sherdina Lewis, Kilyn Lewis’ grandmother, in her speech to the police chief.

“I saw the video – it was horrific, and it’s so bad how he died. What I want to say to the police is: take care of your people. Don’t let them get away with dismissing the entire police force because of this one person.”

Morris also remained in the chamber after the majority of city officials left. Accompanied by other officials, she accepted Anderson’s invitation to come into the council chamber and listen to testimony from Kilyn Lewis’ family and others. Protesters chanted “I have nothing,” which was among Kilyn Lewis’s last words as Morris passed members of the group on her way to the front.

“I have expressed my condolences to the family and will do so again,” Morris said when asked to address Kilyn Lewis’ family. “Regardless of the circumstances, this is very tragic… As we know that these investigations are ongoing, I simply cannot comment further.”

Protesters tried to pressure other officers to offer their condolences – only one did so before Coombs said she believed the group was crossing a line in trying to force the officers to talk.

Dozens of police and non-sworn security guards were stationed in and around the council chambers throughout the night. Officers also flanked the hallway leading to Aurora Hall, where the council held its preparatory study session and largely withdrew when protesters brought the meeting to a halt in the chamber.

While there was no direct confrontation between police and protesters, many of the speakers who took the podium after the majority of the city council left sharply criticized Aurora police for not firing Dieck, even though his actions are still being investigated by investigators.

“He deserves backlash for taking something he can’t give back,” Kilyn Lewis’ aunt Gena Simien said of Dieck. “There is no price on the heads of young black men.”

“Terrorists, anarchists, opportunists, provocateurs”

Meanwhile, in the Aurora Room, the Council’s conservative majority made short work of the evening’s agenda.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman had warned earlier that day that the council would switch its meeting to an online session if there were disruptions by protesters like on June 24.

When asked before the Council’s study session whether the Guardian Coffman referred the question to Acting City Attorney Jack Bajorek, who advised the mayor against it because in that case the city would have to allow the rest of the public to attend in person.

Towards the end of Monday’s meeting, the mayor reiterated his appeal for patience and trust in the two ongoing official investigations into the shooting and described the death of Kilyn Lewis as a “tragedy.”

Dieck’s decision to shoot is being investigated by the 18th Judicial District’s independent Critical Incident Response Team, which has the authority to recommend criminal charges against officers, as well as the Aurora Police Department’s Internal Investigations Bureau.

“Any loss of life is always a tragedy, and when there is a police officer-involved shooting, we go through a process,” Coffman said. “It’s only fair that those two processes can take place before we comment on this specific case, as tragic as it is for the family, and I extend my condolences to the family.”

By far the most vocal member of the protest taking place a few hundred yards away was Councilwoman Stephanie Hancock, who moved to withdraw the apology resolution and another resolution passed by Coombs in which the city would have reaffirmed its commitment to sponsor the 2024 Aurora Pride event in support of LGBTQ residents at Aurora Reservoir, a commitment worth about $15,000.

Hancock faced heavy criticism from protesters on June 24. She began her closing remarks on Monday with an excerpt from an 1852 speech by abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass in which Douglass discusses the significance of July 4th Independence Day for black slaves.

In the portion of the speech read by Hancock, Douglass calls the U.S. Constitution a “glorious document of liberty” and rejects the claim that it supports the institution of slavery.

Hancock, who is black herself, said she objected to protesters not standing during the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of the rally that evening. She argued that American society was founded on the values ​​of freedom and equality, not on slavery, an expression of racism.

“400 years ago my ancestors came here by force, but I am an American. I served in the military. I raise my hand to the flag. I believe in the Constitution. I believe in the principles of this country,” she said.

“Anyone who doesn’t take the pledge and doesn’t recognize that this country is great, I would like to help them pack up and leave because I think this country is worth fighting for and there are those who would try to break this country, disrupt it, destroy it and tear it apart. Those people don’t love this country.”

Hancock added that she would not allow the protesters’ actions to deter her from continuing to serve on the council.

“I will not allow a bunch of tyrants, terrorists, anarchists, opportunists, provocateurs and others who want to raise their voices to get clicks on social media to make me feel even less committed to the principles of this city, this country, than I am today,” she said.

After the meeting, Coombs accused Hancock of trying to block protesters by reading the five-minute excerpt from Douglass’ speech while the livestream of the majority meeting was broadcast in the council chamber, despite objections from those in the audience who were trying to speak or listen to the speakers.

Coombs also expressed frustration at the majority’s unwillingness to publicly comment on the Kilyn Lewis resolution, describing it as an evasive maneuver before a difficult but important conversation with residents.

“They decided we’re not going to celebrate Pride and listen to our community without making it public,” Coombs said. “Instead, they’re just pulling the articles, shutting down the community, calling them terrorists and treating them like terrorists.”

At some point during the session in the chamber, protesters took a symbolic vote on Coombs’ resolution and passed it.

Morris warned that the group had to leave by 8:45 p.m. under a city government order or face arrest. The crowd dispersed shortly before the meeting without any other participants expressing interest in speaking.

Members of the group said in comments Monday that they plan to return for future meetings. The gathering at Monday’s council meeting was part of a “week of action” that supporters said will also include a rally outside City Hall at 7 p.m. Thursday.