Incoming Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain wants to be measured by the results when he officially steps into his new position. He said those results are going to come from how the community feels about the city and its law enforcement agency, which has had a string of controversies in recent years.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and City Manager Jason Batchelor introduced Chamberlain as the city’s first permanent chief of police since 2022 on Thursday. Chamberlain said his skills and experience with diverse communities make him a good fit for Aurora.
“I have a passion for law enforcement. I believe in what it stands for. I have seen when it's done properly and ethically, what the results are, what the outcomes are, not only to the agency or the organization of the officers but to the people that we serve,” Chamberlain said. “And then more importantly, I've had the opportunity to see when it doesn't go right when things aren't done correctly.”
Chamberlain has spent his law enforcement career in the Los Angeles area. He’s a former commander with the Los Angeles Police Department. He retired in 2018 and became the Chief of Police of the Los Angeles Schools Police Department. He resigned from the position in 2020 a day after the Board of Education voted to slash roughly 35 percent of the department’s budget.
The Aurora Police Department is currently under a consent decree from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office because of an investigation that found a pattern and practice of racially biased policing. It’s the first time in Colorado history that a city has entered into such an agreement with the state, and it was made possible by a law passed in the wake of Elijah McClain’s death.
One APD officer and two Aurora Fire and Rescue paramedics were convicted last year in the death of McClain. Most recently, another unarmed Black man, Kilyn Lewis, was shot and killed by an officer with APD’s SWAT team.
Chamberlain believes the use of force should be investigated thoroughly and stresses more de-escalation training for officers.
“Use of force is going to happen, and I'm sorry. But, that's the unfortunate reality of what life is in law enforcement. But, I want to make sure that there's not a disproportionate number of uses of force," Chamberlain said. “If there's a deviation, I want to make sure that not only the officer involved in that use of force understands what happened, but I want to make sure the entire department understands what happened.”
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser congratulated Chamberlain on the hiring and looks forward to working with him in making improvements to the department under the consent decree.
“We are now in the monitoring phase of the consent decree that follows significant changes to policies and related training. Implementing these changes requires stable leadership,” Weiser said in a statement. “I have no doubt that Chamberlain will protect public safety and work to build trust between law enforcement and the community.”
A budget to establish an independent police monitor is scheduled to be published later this month. Chamberlain said he’s not looking at the consent decree and independent police monitor as a negative.
“I don't look at that as a time to say, “Wow, I want to make sure nothing bad comes out of this,’ ” Chamberlain said. “Let's find out what's really going on. Let's really see what the issues are, what the problems are. Nothing cannot be addressed, if you don't expose yourself to it, if you don't understand it, it's never going to be better.”
The Aurora Chapter of the NAACP also expressed they are looking forward to working with him but were disappointed in the lack of community input in the hiring process.
Batchelor explained the public process of finding a permanent police chief over the last 28 months had failed. He said there were many qualified candidates who were unwilling to go through that process.
“The feedback we heard from experts in the field was that there were many qualified candidates that would not take part in a public process because it could place their current job in jeopardy,” Batchelor said. “So, in order to ensure that we had the broadest candidate and most qualified candidate pool, we utilized the process that included our direct recruitment of candidates without publicly exposing their names or interest. The irony that Todd was not in a current position is not lost on me.”
Chamberlain's selection ends a prolonged search for a permanent since the firing of Vanessa Wilson in 2022. Three interim police chiefs, most recently Heather Morris, have filled the role. Morris decided in July that she would not seek the permanent position. Mayor Coffman threw his full support to Chamberlain.
“Although I deeply appreciate the work that Interim Chief Heather Morris has done as well as Interim Chief Dan Oates and Art Acevedo, only a permanent police chief can bring about the lasting changes necessary to make the Aurora Police Department an organization that best serves the needs of our community,” Coffman said.
Chamberlain could start as soon as Sept. 9 pending confirmation from the city council.
