AURORA, Colo. — After nearly 20 years, Aurora city leaders are considering bringing back a reserve police force.
The Aurora City Council will discuss the issue at their meeting Monday evening.
Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky introduced a proposal that would authorize a reserve police force. It would be composed of unpaid volunteers.
“This was a request brought forward by the police department to be able to revamp the tactical medic program for our SWAT team,” Jurinsky said.
In a council meeting last week, City Attorney Peter Schulte said medics assigned to work with the SWAT team often carry concealed weapons, putting them and the city in potential legal jeopardy.
“And that scared me. It's like, wait a minute. If they're with the SWAT team and they're armed, and they get into a use-of-force incident, I want to be able to protect the firefighters or paramedics and my client being the city, protect the city as well," he said.
Schulte said allowing those medics to train and become part of a police reserve force will provide them legal protections.
The proposal has been updated to allow current or former city employees, people participating in the Aurora Police Department's (APD) officer cadet program, and people with law enforcement experience to become reserve officers.
City officials said they must all be in good standing — meaning they left previous employment on their own accord and are not under investigation — and go through six weeks of training to get certified.
They would also go through the same hiring process as lateral recruits.
The proposed ordinance says the police chief may appoint "up to the number corresponding to five percent of the authorized sworn strength of the regular police department" as police reserve officers.
As of June 30, the APD had 680 sworn members. That means over 30 reserve officers could be appointed.
“This isn't anything that's new. There are several states and a lot of sheriff's departments in Colorado and across the country [that] utilize reserves,” Schulte said.
Aurora Interim Police Chief Art Acevedo told council members similar programs have worked in other parts of the country.
“I think our priority is going to be No. 1, our firefighters,” he said. “This is a model that's worked across the country and is the best practice. And it's to protect the firefighters themselves and the city from liability.”
Aurora had a reserve officer program until the early 2000s.
According to city officials, interest in the program dropped to nearly zero, and the department got rid of it.
The city also removed a section of code that authorized a reserve police force.
APD has come under intense scrutiny for its policing practices in recent years.
A Colorado Attorney General’s report found the department had a “pattern and practice” of racially biased policing and excessive force.
Community activist Candice Bailey said given Aurora’s history, city leaders should get more community input before bringing back a reserve police force.
“Our community’s voice is not at the table,” Bailey said. “There has been no community engagement, and trust is the No. 1 issue we have had in the City of Aurora with APD. Our community does not trust APD.”
Bailey said she worries reserve officers won’t be properly trained to deal with high-stress situations, including those that require de-escalation.
She said regular full-time police officers struggle with those very issues.
“Wait until one of those [reservists] is with an active shooter. Wait until one of those people are in a situation that they have no training for, that they are not equipped for,” Bailey said. “We are literally putting them at risk and putting our community at risk.”
Acevado said the reserve police force program would be “measured” and “focused.”
He indicated most reserve officers would be in supportive roles.
"It's not like LAPD, where they have just hundreds of reservists that have never been police officers that actually go out and work patrol on a regular basis. It's going to be more of a measured and, I think, more of a focused program."
Across the country, many police departments are turning to reserve officers to help with staffing issues.
Many departments are struggling to recruit and retain officers.
Reserved officers could also help APD with its staffing issues.
According to information provided to the council at a recent committee meeting, 48 sworn staff members have left APD this year, including 23 who resigned and 21 who retired.
The president of the Aurora police union said morale was low. He also blamed the lack of a permanent police chief and inconsistent discipline as factors in why many officers have left APD.
