AURORA, CO - A number of policy changes made by the Aurora Police Department (APD) are bringing a change in the community, according to a report released by the independent consent decree monitor for Aurora.
Following the death of Kilyn Lewis in May of 2024, APD dialed back its use of SWAT, reserving the term for high-risk scenarios where specialized tactics are needed, 9News reported. Since them, it's led to a drop in how often SWAT is called out.
According to the report, since the changes were implemented SWAT deployments are down 36% from 244 calls out between January and September of 2024 to 156 from October of 2024 to June of this year. Data also showed that the use of force by SWAT is down 35% from 17 instances to 11 in those same time periods.
No serious injuries or deadly incidents occurred since the SWAT criteria was limited, according to the data from the monitor's report. The report states that the changes are positive, saying, "Limiting SWAT to genuinely high-risk situations reduces community exposure to high-intensity tactics and supports de-escalation objectives, while maintaining officer and public safety."
A spokesperson for APD told 9News that the changes were not implemented because of the consent decree's reporting or suggestions, but rather Chief Todd Chamberlain made the changes to put the department in line with nationwide best practices for SWAT.
APD also expanded its vehicle pursuit policy back in March, allowing officers to now pursue suspected DUI drivers and for stolen vehicles. Since then, police pursuits in Aurora have gone up significantly. Before the change in March, from October 204 to February 2025, data from the monitor report shows there were three vehicle pursuits. One for suspected DUI and two for felony in progress.
Only one of those pursuits involved a crash. Since the change was implemented, from April to August of this year, there were 107 pursuits. According to the report, 80 of those were for stolen vehicles, eight for felony in progress, 10 for suspected criminal activity, and nine for suspected DUI. Additionally, 22 of those police chases involved a crash and 11 with other cars, including three people who were injured.
As for the stolen vehicles, data shows half of the people were apprehended and half escaped. In all, 87 arrests from those vehicle pursuits were made in that timeframe.
The monitor report recommended that APD add dash cameras to all patrol vehicles to help them recover stolen vehicles before they even happen by scanning license plates, but to also increase transparency. Following the expansion on police pursuits, a spokesperson for the APD said they're "capturing more criminals and holding them accountable, which is exactly the reason for Chief Chamberlain entrusting our officers to engage in these pursuits."
Following the death of Kilyn Lewis in May of 2024, APD dialed back its use of SWAT, reserving the term for high-risk scenarios where specialized tactics are needed, 9News reported. Since them, it's led to a drop in how often SWAT is called out.
According to the report, since the changes were implemented SWAT deployments are down 36% from 244 calls out between January and September of 2024 to 156 from October of 2024 to June of this year. Data also showed that the use of force by SWAT is down 35% from 17 instances to 11 in those same time periods.
No serious injuries or deadly incidents occurred since the SWAT criteria was limited, according to the data from the monitor's report. The report states that the changes are positive, saying, "Limiting SWAT to genuinely high-risk situations reduces community exposure to high-intensity tactics and supports de-escalation objectives, while maintaining officer and public safety."
A spokesperson for APD told 9News that the changes were not implemented because of the consent decree's reporting or suggestions, but rather Chief Todd Chamberlain made the changes to put the department in line with nationwide best practices for SWAT.
APD also expanded its vehicle pursuit policy back in March, allowing officers to now pursue suspected DUI drivers and for stolen vehicles. Since then, police pursuits in Aurora have gone up significantly. Before the change in March, from October 204 to February 2025, data from the monitor report shows there were three vehicle pursuits. One for suspected DUI and two for felony in progress.
Only one of those pursuits involved a crash. Since the change was implemented, from April to August of this year, there were 107 pursuits. According to the report, 80 of those were for stolen vehicles, eight for felony in progress, 10 for suspected criminal activity, and nine for suspected DUI. Additionally, 22 of those police chases involved a crash and 11 with other cars, including three people who were injured.
As for the stolen vehicles, data shows half of the people were apprehended and half escaped. In all, 87 arrests from those vehicle pursuits were made in that timeframe.
The monitor report recommended that APD add dash cameras to all patrol vehicles to help them recover stolen vehicles before they even happen by scanning license plates, but to also increase transparency. Following the expansion on police pursuits, a spokesperson for the APD said they're "capturing more criminals and holding them accountable, which is exactly the reason for Chief Chamberlain entrusting our officers to engage in these pursuits."
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