AURORA, Colo. — MiDian Holmes, the CEO of the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership and lead advocate for the family of Kilyn Lewis, filed a lawsuit against the City of Aurora on Wednesday, alleging that the city council's move to change its public comment sessions violates the First Amendment.
Last week, the Aurora City Council voted to suspend in-person meetings and public comment until a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Lewis's family is settled.
Lewis, a Black man, was unarmed when he was shot and killed by an Aurora SWAT officer on May 23, 2024. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said city council meetings have been disrupted in the year since Lewis' death, with protesters threatening and harassing council members.
The mayor alleges protesters have ignored the city council's rules of conduct during the public comment listening period, including more than one person standing at the podium, disregarding allotted time limits for each speaker and denying other people who were signed up to speak the opportunity to do so. They have repeated demands for a financial settlement from the city following the killing of Lewis.
"Their goal is simple: write them a check and they will go away. Until then, they will continue to disrupt our meetings," Coffman said on social media. "They have no choice but to continue disrupting our meetings because their lawsuit is meritless. This is why we have no choice but to stop all in-person council meetings, and go virtual, until their lawsuit has been concluded."
- View a timeline of the changes to Aurora City Council's public comment below
The lawsuit alleges that the changes to public comment violate her First Amendment right to free speech. She told Denver7 the City of Aurora has a "responsibility to listen, to engage and to adapt their leadership to the needs of their people."
"The reason that this lawsuit has been filed is because, by law, our elected officials cannot silence the voices of the people they represent," Shofner said. "We need to take a stand, and we need to ensure that the voices of the people are prioritized and remind the council that inside of those chambers, the most powerful place in that room is the podium that the people come and stand from."
While the Aurora City Council has suspended its in-person meetings and public comment, a live public comment phone line has been set up. However, that line will only allow individuals to comment on a specific agenda item.
Denver7 reached out to the City of Aurora for comment on the lawsuit filed Wednesday. City offices were closed on Thursday in observance of Juneteenth, so city staff were unavailable. A city spokesperson did issue a statement, saying, "We have not been served or noticed so we cannot comment on litigation we have not seen or reviewed. If there is a lawsuit, the city will strongly defend itself against it."
- Read the full lawsuit below
Some longtime Aurora residents Denver7 spoke with agreed with the city council's move.
"I believe thoroughly in stopping the public speaking so we can get on with business, what we pay our council members to do," said Susan Tabacheck, who regularly attends Aurora City Council meetings. "I can't get up and talk because they take over."
Susan's daughter, Tanya Tabacheck, told Denver7 she's gone to nearly every city council meeting for the past three years.
"I feel like what they say is important, and if I have any issues with car racing or other issues that citizens might give me... I could speak at the public [comment] to be heard," Tanya said. "It's very important to, like I said, to speak to those that don't go to the meetings, and to bring up their thoughts and what they feel about."
Aurora
Aurora City Council suspends in-person meetings pending Kilyn Lewis lawsuit
The Tabachecks told Denver7 they feel like their right to engage and express their opinion during council meetings has been overshadowed over the past several months by those who show up in support of Lewis.
"I want to say — and this my opinion — my thought process is it's important to get what their thoughts or opinions are across to the council and to the citizens of Aurora. However, there's other people that want to talk and so forth," Susan said.
Shofner said she and others who've been showing up to the meetings will not back down.
"We have not rioted inside of the chambers. However, we have disrupted intentionally because, again, that is the language of the unheard," Shofter said. "We will continue to show up and, as promised, Aurora, we will not stop."
