Protesters demand arrest of Aurora police officer who shot Kilyn Lewis

Demonstrators gathered outside the Aurora Municipal Center Friday night to protest the death of Kilyn Lewis, an unarmed man who was shot and killed by an Aurora police officer last month. About 40 of Lewis’ friends and family members gathered to remember him and demand the arrest of the police officer who shot him.

“This is really about the family having an opportunity to celebrate the life of Kylin Lewis,” said Candice Bailey, an advocate for Lewis’ family. “But we also want to let this community, this city council and this police department know that they are on guard right now.”

Bailey and the other protesters said they were demanding justice for Lewis’ death and that the gathering served as a “call to action” for a complete restructuring of the Aurora Police Department and the arrest of Officer Michael Dieck, who shot the 37-year-old unarmed black man.

The protest was organized after Aurora police released body-worn camera footage of the fatal shooting earlier this week. The footage shows Lewis being surrounded by several SWAT officers. In a statement, Aurora Acting Police Chief Heather Morris said the Aurora SWAT team was asked to assist in arresting Lewis in connection with a homicide. The shooting is currently under investigation by the Aurora Police Department’s Internal Investigations Division.

Lewis was working on a car stereo when officers approached him in a residential parking lot. Less than 10 seconds passed between the officers confronting Lewis and the single shot Dieck fired.

Dieck is currently on leave.

“(Officer Dieck) wronged my father,” Kilyn Lewis Jr., Lewis’ 16-year-old son, told the crowd. “(My father) was a good man, a good father. I miss him very much. But we will get justice for my father soon.”

Among the protesters were LaRonda Jones, Lewis’ mother, and Kiawa Lewis, his brother. Both held up pictures of Lewis in front of the crowd.

“I always called Kylin my lovable, cuddly teddy bear, because that’s what he was,” Jones said. She also said she was demanding “accountability” for Dieck’s actions. Jones and her family are calling for “the immediate arrest of Officer Dieck.”