AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora City Council is bringing back public comment sessions.
Council members voted 10-1 Monday in favor of the measure that would reinstate half-hour public listening sessions before the regular council meeting.
Aurora City Council members voted to suspend in-person meetings and public comment sessions last month, citing continuous interruptions from a group of protesters upset with the official findings from the May 23, 2024, deadly Aurora police shooting of 37-year-old Kilyn Lewis.
In an October 2024 letter, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office determined that the shooting death of Lewis by Aurora SWAT members was justified. Lewis was wanted in connection with a May 5, 2024, Denver shooting that wounded a 63-year-old man.
Police video shows Lewis, who was unarmed unbeknownst to officers, failing to comply with police commands and reaching for his pocket while being held at gunpoint by multiple SWAT members. An Aurora SWAT officer fired a single shot before Lewis was heard yelling at police, “I don’t have nothing!” before falling to the ground.
The item Lewis was reaching for inside his pocket turned out to be a cellphone.
Lewis’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in May of this year, which has yet to be settled.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said the protesting group attending weekly city council meetings ignores rules of conduct during the public comment 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.
"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 last month. "They have no choice but to continue disrupting our meetings because their lawsuit is meritless.”
In response to the suspension of public comments, the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership filed a lawsuit against the city last month, claiming the suspension violated the First Amendment. It's unclear if Monday's vote was in response to the lawsuit.
Council meetings will continue to be held virtually. However, the public is invited to comment on non-agenda items of city concern from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the same designated Mondays as the regular council meetings.
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