AURORA, Colo. — During the past five years, the Aurora Police Department has been at the center of several controversies that led to leadership changes.
On Thursday, Todd Chamberlain was officially introduced as the fifth chief to be sworn in over those past five years for a department that has struggled to locate and keep a qualified candidate.
If confirmed by a majority of the Aurora City Council, Chamberlain would be sworn in on Sept. 9. Council members will consider his appointment during a meeting on Aug. 26.
He would become the fourth person to occupy the post since the tumultuous ouster of former chief of police Vanessa Wilson in early 2022.
Interim Police Chief Heather Morris announced last month that she would not pursue the full-time position. She did not disclose her reasoning, only calling it a "personal decision."
Morris became interim chief following the departure of Art Acevedo, who left the department in January after only 13 months on the job. He decided to return to Texas to be with his family.
Acevedo was tapped to replace Dan Oates, the former Aurora police chief who took the helm again in April 2022 following the dismissal of Wilson.
Chamberlain began his career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1984 and eventually became a commander, overseeing more than 1,800 personnel. He left in 2018 and a year later, became the chief of police for the Los Angeles School Police Department.
After only a year stint there, Chamberlain spent the past four years as the principal public safety consultant with the Justice Public Safety (JPS) division within SAS Institute, a data analytics company.
He also serves as an adjunct professor at California State University Los Angeles.
Aurora
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Former Aurora Chief of Police Dan Oates weighed in on Chamberlain’s hire Thursday, and said he believes the city is lucky to have the former chief of the Los Angeles School Police Department.
“He’s making the full commitment to go there and I’m sure he will be there five years or more. And it’s exactly what Aurora needs after all the turmoil over the last couple years,” Oates said. “I think they’ve got exactly the right person to move forward.”
Oates served as interim chief after the firing of Vanessa Wilson in 2022 and was previously chief of the department from 2005-2014.
He helped advise city leaders during its search and advised Chamberlain to spend time with his officers and make them feel good about coming to work again.
“The cops are battered, morale is low for obvious reasons having to do with the criticisms directed at the organization,” he said.
