AURORA, Colo. — Aurora’s mayor is calling for his city to suspend a law enforcement mutual aid agreement with Denver.
It means Aurora would not respond to Denver’s calls for help during major civil disturbances.
It’s the latest twist in an ongoing legal battle between the two cities, stemming from the 2020 summer protests.
Aurora Mike Coffman will introduce a resolution during Monday night’s Aurora City Council meeting.
The resolution says Aurora is not to provide law enforcement mutual aid assistance to Denver until the cities come to an understanding about the responsibilities each city has during mutual aid situations.
The 2020 killing of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests, including in Denver.
The civil unrest forced Denver Police to ask for help from surrounding agencies.
Coffman says Aurora answered the call, sending officers to Denver through a mutual aid agreement.
Afterward, protesters began filing lawsuits, accusing police officers of violating their civil rights.
Coffman says Denver defended its officers, paying millions in legal fees and settlements.
But he says Denver left Aurora officers who were named in the suits as co-defendants high and dry.
“I believe they have a moral, if not a legal, obligation to indemnify our officers,” said Coffman. “Those officers acted under the direction of the Denver Police Department.”
In May, Aurora sued Denver, asking a district court to declare that Denver is legally responsible for the Aurora officers who responded to DPD’s request for mutual aid.
“Aurora has repeatedly asked Denver to confirm that it will indemnify Aurora or otherwise assume responsibility for these claims as required by state law and the parties’ longstanding practice and agreement. Denver has refused, and so Aurora now seeks a declaration establishing that Denver does in fact, have that obligation,” Aurora’s attorneys said in the lawsuit.
Denver mayor Michael Hancock’s office said in a statement Denver is not legally responsible for the Aurora officers.
“Mayor Hancock and Mayor Coffman spoke recently, and while the Mayor respects Mayor Coffman’s position and is appreciative of the long-standing partnership between Denver and Aurora, there is a fundamental disagreement on this issue,” Hancock’s office said. “We believe Aurora is taking an overly broad interpretation of the indemnity provisions in the mutual aid statute. Our legal teams have been in close contact on this question for months and agreed that asking the court – a neutral party – to decide the scope of indemnification was the best approach.”
Coffman’s resolution says until both cities come to an understanding, Aurora’s city manager “should strongly consider withdrawing from all law enforcement mutual aid agreements in place with the City and County of Denver.”
“What will not continue is the ability for Denver under this mutual aid agreement to call in the Aurora Police Department in the event of a major civil disturbance,” said Coffman.
Coffman wants Denver’s incoming mayor, Mike Johnston, who will be sworn into office on Monday, to agree in writing that Denver will always assume legal responsibility when Aurora officers respond to a mutual aid request.
Denver7 reached out to Johnston’s transition team to get his response to Coffman.
“We are aware that Aurora and Denver had a disagreement and decided that the best path to resolve this question was to ask the court for a decision on the appropriate terms of liability,” Johnston said. “As we await the court’s decision, I look forward to working with Mayor Coffman and the City of Aurora to help ensure a safe and vibrant metro area.”
Coffman says the suspension or termination of the mutual aid agreement would not impact day-to-day cooperation between Aurora and Denver police.
“[Criminals] don’t quite respect boundaries between our two cities, so they go back and forth, and it's important that we have a significant level of cooperation to be able to deter crime and apprehend criminals,” Coffman said.
He also said he had a good relationship with Hancock, and said the cities work closely together and agree on a number of other issues.
However, he reiterated that Aurora would not respond to a major civil disturbance in Denver until both sides come to an agreement.
“In terms of another major civil disturbance that’s just not going to happen,” said Coffman. “We're simply not going to be able to stay in the agreement going forward if, in fact, our officers are not going to be indemnified.”
