Senate Bill 20-217, a law enforcement accountability bill enacted in Colorado in 2020, authorized the attorney general to investigate any governmental agency for engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates state or federal constitutions or laws. In August 2020, Attorney General Weiser announced an investigation of Aurora Police and Aurora Fire based on multiple community reports about misconduct.  This investigation led to an agreement between the Attorney General's Office and the City of Aurora which mandated that the City reform public safety in Aurora in a variety of different ways to be overseen by an Independent Consent Decree Monitor.

On September 15, 2021, the Attorney General announced that the Department of Law investigation team found that the Aurora Police Department had a pattern and practice of violating state and federal law through racially biased policing, using excessive force, and failing to record legally required information when interacting with the community. 

The investigation also found that Aurora Fire Rescue had a pattern and practice of administering ketamine in violation of the law. Lastly, with respect to personnel issues, the investigation found that the Aurora Civil Service Commission overturned disciplinary actions in high-profile cases in a way that undermined the chief’s authority; that the commission had total control over entry-level hiring and that the hiring process yielded a disparate impact on minority applicants. 

As a result of this investigation, The Department of Law strongly recommended Aurora enter a consent decree with the department to require specific changes—with ongoing independent oversight—to policies, training, record keeping, and hiring. The pattern and practice law gave the Department of Law 60 days to work with Aurora to find an agreement on a consent decree to implement these changes. 

On November 16, 2021, the Attorney General and the City of Aurora announced they had reached an agreement on how the city would address the issues identified in the investigation.  It was announced that the parties were entering into  a Consent Decree that set forth the specific commitments that the Aurora Police Department, Aurora Fire Rescue, and the Aurora Civil Service Commission would take to improve their practices and comply with state and federal law.  Compliance with the mandates of the Consent Decree would occur under the oversight of an Independent Consent Decree Monitor. The changes outlined in the Decree were designed to build on efforts the city had already been taking to improve policing and public safety. The Monitor would be required to provide regular public updates to the court and work with Aurora to ensure these changes reflect best practices and community input.

A competitive search process for a consent decree monitor was conducted by the Parties and IntegrAssure LLC, with its President and CEO, Jeff Schlanger, in the role of Lead Monitor, was selected to serve as the Independent Consent Decree Monitor for the City of Aurora. 

This is the official website of the Office of the Independent Consent Decree Monitor for the City of Aurora where up-to-date information on the Consent Decree and the City’s progress toward compliance can be found.  The site also provides the ability for the public to voice their thoughts, concerns, or questions relative to public safety in Aurora and the Consent Decree.