AURORA, Colo. — The family of a carjacking suspect, who Aurora officers shot and killed last month after police said he pointed what turned out to be an airsoft gun at them, held a candlelight vigil Saturday night, calling for justice.
“We’re bringing awareness to this situation because it is a problem in Aurora. It has been a problem for a very long time,” Erica Dillard said.
Kory Dillard, a 37-year-old Army veteran, was shot and killed on Oct. 3 in a neighborhood west of S. Peoria Street and E. Colfax Avenue.
The Aurora Police Department said witnesses called 911 after they reported a violent carjacking by a suspect armed with an assault-style rifle.
“They stated, please drop the weapon, drop the weapon. The suspect's response to this de-escalation in this verbal command was to raise the weapon toward the officers,” Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said during an Oct. 7 press conference.
Chamberlain revealed that day that the weapon was a realistic-looking airsoft gun.
“That replica of a tactical air rifle looks exactly the same as an authentic AR-15,’ Chamberlain said.
This weekend, Dillard’s family drove across the country from Baltimore to demand the complete, unedited body-camera footage from the shooting.
“There’s no accountability being taken at all, at all,” Erica Dillard said.
The Dillard family said they plan to file a lawsuit for the wrongful death of their loved one, demanding punishment for the officers involved and an overhaul of the department’s de-escalation training.
“I love him, and I miss him, and I wish he was here, but we’re here to be the voice, and we’re never giving up, never,” Erica Dillard said.
After the shooting, Aurora police said they wished there was an alternative to what happened that day, but Dillard’s actions dictated the end result.
The two officers involved were placed on leave following the shooting. The Aurora Police Department told Denver7 on Saturday that the two have returned to full duty.
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