DENVER — The family of Rajon Belt-Stubblefield, a 37-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by an Aurora police officer in 2025, has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging that his death was predictable due to department practices.
The civil lawsuit was filed against the officer, Matthew Neely, and the City of Aurora, by attorneys Milo Schwab, Casey Alexa Peel, and Ben Crump. Neely was charged last month in connection with the 2025 killing of Belt-Stubblefield following a grand jury indictment.
Watch below: Aurora police officer indicted in the fatal shooting of a Black man last year
Last month, Aurora Police said that Neely is on unpaid administrative leave. The 144-page complaint was filed Sunday in federal court.
Read the full complaint here or in the embed below:
"The killing of Mr. Belt-Stubblefield was not an aberration, and it was not bad luck. It was the predictable product of the Aurora Police Department’s longstanding customs and practices of unnecessary escalation, excessive force, and racially biased policing," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also alleges that Aurora police never reached compliance with court-ordered reforms following a 2021 report from the Colorado attorney general's office. That report, the lawsuit said, found that Aurora police “has a pattern and practice of racially biased policing, using excessive force, and failing to record required information when it interacts with the community.”
According to the lawsuit, Aurora police "had never achieved full operational integrity in a single one of the consent decree’s subject areas governing use of force, bias-free policing, documentation of stops, or accountability."
The lawsuit also alleges that on April 15, 2025, the Independent Consent Decree Monitor issued a warning to the department that its Early Intervention System, which was designed to flag problems with officers, was "not working well."
Denver7 Investigates
Aurora police officer indicted in the fatal shooting of a Black man last year
Neely's body camera video, released in the weeks following the shooting, and nearby surveillance cameras on 6th Avenue and Sable Boulevard in Aurora, depict the moments leading up to the fatal shooting.
Neely reportedly attempted to pull over Belt-Stubblefield in a traffic stop. Body-worn camera shows Neely approach Belt-Stubblefield’s car with his gun drawn, demanding that Belt-Stubblefield put his hands in the air.
Police reports describe Belt-Stubblefield driving off, crashing into two vehicles at the intersection of 6th Avenue and Billings Street.
After the crash, the video shows Belt-Stubblefield disregarded commands to put his hands in the air and moved to the sidewalk. Neely unsuccessfully tried to tackle him, and at that point, Belt-Stubblefield appeared to toss a gun into the grass.
He then advanced toward the officer for roughly 50 feet while the officer continued to shout commands for Belt-Stubblefield to get on the ground.
During this encounter, Belt-Stubblefield’s son could be heard on body-worn camera shouting “dad, chill,” “officer, chill,” and the officer tells him to “get on the ground.”
The officer took several steps onto 6th Avenue, firing three shots that hit Belt-Stubblefield in the chest and head, killing him.
Denver7 reached out to the Aurora Police Department and the City of Aurora about the federal lawsuit, and a spokesperson with the city said they do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
In the days following the shooting, Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlain defended Neely's actions.
Chamberlain declined to comment on the indictment in August, saying that he "respects the judicial process."
"I will say this: police officers are routinely called on to address – sometimes in seconds – dangerous and rapidly evolving situations they did not create," Chamberlain said. "I am confident that all the facts will be fully examined through due process. As with any case, these filing charges are not a determination of guilt."
Community members and attorneys for Belt-Stubblefield’s family said Neely escalated the situation and that his life was not in danger since Belt-Stubblefield was unarmed when he was shot.
Watch Denver7 reporter Veronica Acosta's story on the community reaction to the indictment in the video below:
Prior coverage:
- Grand jury to decide if Aurora officer faces charges in Rajon Belt-Stubblefield shooting
- Family of man killed by Aurora police intends to sue city for wrongful death, emotional distress
- Aurora community continues call for justice during vigil for Rajon Belt-Stubblefield
- Autopsy report shows Rajon Belt-Stubblefield was shot three times, had a BAC of .274
- Bodycam, surveillance footage shows fatal police shooting of Rajon Belt-Stubblefield, whose family responds
