AURORA, Colo. — The family of Rajon Belt-Stubblefield, a man shot and killed by an Aurora police officer following a traffic stop last August, has announced plans to sue the city of Aurora for wrongful death and emotional distress to his son caused by the shooting.
During a press conference outside the Aurora Municipal Center Monday, attorneys for Belt-Stubblefield’s family said they filed two notices of claim, calling it a “necessary legal step toward accountability.” Both lawsuits will seek at least $20 million in damages.
“It’s not okay for police to kill people because they make a mistake, because they don’t listen. We only allow police officers take a life when their lives are truly in danger, and this officer’s life was never in danger,” said Milo Schwab, an attorney with Ascend Counsel representing Belt-Stubblefield’s family.
The notices of claim said that attorneys believe that the use of lethal force by the officer was not appropriate in the situation. Belt-Stubblefield’s son, 19-year-old Zion Murphy, was at the scene of the shooting and witnessed his father being killed.
Murphy said he’s glad family members, community advocates, and attorneys are still pushing for accountability after his father’s death.
“At first I felt like that everybody was just going to let the situation die and everybody forget about it,” he said. “You know, he was a good person, you know, he was a good father to me and my little siblings.”
Jacob Curtis
Belt-Stubblefield’s son, 19-year-old Zion Murphy, spoke to Denver7 about his late father. Murphy was at the scene of the shooting and witnessed his father being killed.
During the press conference, Belt-Stubblefield’s wife, Tandra Blankson, said she has felt joy missing from her life ever since her husband’s death.
“I miss my husband, but I miss my friend,” said Blankson. “I am tired of being afraid and having to feel like I have to be strong when I am terrified all the time.”
Jacob Curtis
During the press conference, Belt-Stubblefield’s wife, Tandra Blankson, said she has felt joy missing from her life ever since her husband’s death.
Belt-Stubblefield was shot and killed near I-225 and 6th Avenue in Aurora after an attempted traffic stop. Aurora Police said an officer tried to pull him over, but Belt-Stubblefield kept driving and struck at least two other cars. Police said Belt-Stubblefield then got out of his car, walked toward the sidewalk, and tossed a handgun into the grass.
Body camera video released by Aurora Police shows the officer approaching Belt-Stubblefield and making multiple demands for him to get on the ground. The video shows Belt-Stubblefield advancing toward the officer, who then backs into the road and fires several shots.
During a press conference days after the shooting, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said the officer was alone, outnumbered and backed into the street after Belt-Stubblefield came toward him.
“The suspect then turned on the officer, raised his fist, and said, ‘I’m ready for this. Are you ready for this?’ And then he aggressively advanced,” Chamberlain said.
Attorneys for the family argue it was the officer’s choices that created the situation and said the officer’s tactics to de-escalate the situation only made it worse.
“He’s the one that backed himself into the street, a street that was… where traffic had clearly stopped,” said Schwab.
“I would like somebody to respond and tell me, name one move that that officer used that was tactical. Name one move that you saw that was a part of a training that we have paid for,” said attorney Clifford Jones, with Ben Crump Law.
APD Chief Chamberlain has previously defended the officer’s actions, saying the officer was placed in a dangerous, fast-moving situation. Aurora Police said the department has not completed its internal investigation of the shooting. A spokesperson for the department said the officer involved has returned to full duty with the traffic unit.
Family of man shot, killed by Aurora police say they intend to sue
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DENVER — As high fire danger becomes a becomes a way of life during Colorado’s driest winter in decades, more homeowners are investing in backup power generators as extreme fire weather conditions threaten to disrupt power across the state.
Xcel Energy started using preemptive power shutoffs as a fire mitigation tool in March 2024. Since then, the company has conducted three more shutoffs between December 2025 and January 2026, affecting customers along the Front Range and northern Colorado. While neither Xcel nor CORE said they plan to shut off power in communities during this week’s weather event, homeowners are accepting the reality of future outages.
Tom Teynor, the owner of Bell Plumbing and Heating, said his company is seeing a dramatic surge in homeowners requesting generator installations because of the planned Xcel outages.
“We certainly support the safety for wildfires. I think consumers are starting to realize that backup generation or power storage is no longer a luxury, that it’s often a requirement,” said Teynor.
Jacob Curtis
Tom Teynor, the owner of Bell Plumbing and Heating, said his company is seeing a dramatic surge in homeowners requesting generator installations because of the planned Xcel outages.
He said before planned outages became more common, his company received about a dozen requests per year for generators. Now, he said, they’re fielding about seven requests per week.
“For a lot of people, it’s a safety issue, making sure that sump pump is working, not losing food, making sure medical equipment is operational,” said Teynor.
Denver7 | Weather
An inside look at the meteorologists who forecast fire danger for Xcel Energy
The increased demand comes as Colorado faces an extremely dry winter with frequent red flag warnings and critical fire weather conditions. Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR) said it’s preparing for heightened risks by staffing extra wildland fire engines on Monday and Tuesday.
“To me, it feels like we are seeing more red flag warnings and more critical fire weather than what I’ve seen in my career here along the Front Range in the fire service,” said Eric Hurst, Public Information Officer for AFR.
Jacob Curtis
Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR) said it’s preparing for heightened risks by staffing extra wildland fire engines on Monday and Tuesday.
Xcel Energy said it plans to activate enhanced safety settings on powerlines across eastern Colorado over the next few days. The safety settings make lines more sensitive and automatically shut off power if something, like a tree branch, comes into contact with the line.
Hurst said windy conditions can lead to unplanned localized power outages. He said energy company crews will respond to calls about power outages, while fire crews may respond to emergencies that result from power outages.
“People who are reliant on home oxygen machines that are plugged into the wall if they’re not prepared with backup oxygen. A lot of times that can cause problems where people are needing assistance with that. Sometimes fire alarm activations or stalled elevators in buildings. Those are the types of things that we often see when the power is out,” said Hurst.
Weather News
With elevated fire danger Tues., a fire department shows us how they’re prepping
Teynor said many of his customers often feel frustrated about spending money on back up power supplies as they feel compelled to find their own solutions to power outages.
“More and more people are working from home, and suddenly it becomes less optional to have power when you’re in that situation,” Teynor said.
To prepare for planned or unplanned outages this week, he recommends homeowners test sump pumps and backup batteries. He said people should make sure to fully charge phones, laptops, and medical devices. You can also freeze water bottles to help keep freezers cold longer and fill bathtubs with water to use for sanitation needs or flushing toilets during power outages.
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Aurora students walked out of school on Friday in protest of the Trump administration’s continued mass deportation campaign, the second walkout staged by the city’s students this week and the third in two weeks.
The Aurora Police Department estimates that 500 to 600 students from up to 11 schools participated in the walkouts. Between around 10:30 a.m. and noon, the students left their schools, marched downtown and gathered in front of City Hall, police said.
East Aurora High School students were seen walking out and marching towards City Hall with flags and signs at around noon.
At City Hall, students were chanting things like “ICE out,” in reference to one of the federal agencies spearheading the mass deportations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Some blew whistles, which have become a symbol of resistance to ICE. Others held signs saying things like “Liberty and justice for all,” “Love melts ICE,” “Hate will not make us great” and “Families belong together.”
Between the protesters’ signs, Mexican and other flags flapped in the wind.
Meanwhile, cars driving by honked in apparent support as adults in high-visibility vests stood between the protestors and the road to encourage them to stay on the sidewalk.
For the most part, students remained on sidewalks, did not significantly impact traffic and complied with verbal directions, according to a police spokesperson.
No arrests were made during Friday’s walkouts, but police officers did address several reported disturbances, the spokesperson said.
Multiple drivers were issued traffic-related citations, including a vehicle that was driving recklessly with the driver issued multiple citations, a statement from the police department said.
At one point, a counter-protester holding a Trump flag stood on the opposite side of the street from the student protesters until he was chased away by a group of the students. Officers responded to a report of this incident, police said.
That group of protesters was then seen marching down Broadway before turning on Galena Boulevard and rejoining the rest of the student protesters through the Water Street Mall.
Around 1:30 p.m., groups began leaving the downtown area, separating into smaller groups and traveling to different locations throughout the city, according to a police spokesperson. Most activity was over by around 3 p.m.
But, after the downtown crowd had dispersed, an aggravated battery was reported in the 300 block of North Lincoln Avenue following a fight involving several young people, police said. The incident is still under investigation.
State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, attended the students’ protest. Speaking with reporters before the walkout at East Aurora High School, she said that she was there because she believes in the right to peacefully assemble.
“The students are our future,” she told The Beacon-News. “They are why I do the work that I do every single day, so I’m here to stand with them.”
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE immediately responded to a request for comment about recent student walkouts in Aurora.
Many students at the protest in downtown Aurora on Feb. 13, 2026, held signs with messages of unity. (R. Christian Smith/The Beacon-News)
West Aurora School District 129 saw 50 students from its middle schools and 200 students from its high school walk out of class Friday, a district spokesperson said. Students from Indian Prairie School District 204 also participated in the walkouts, according to a district spokesperson.
East Aurora School District 131 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, East Aurora School District 131 and West Aurora School District 129 posted on Facebook a joint message from the districts’ two superintendents that discouraged students from walking out, asking students’ family and community members to encourage them to stay in school.
“When we discourage student walkouts, it’s a result of safety and a desire to protect the children placed in our care during the school day,” West Aurora Superintendent Michael Smith said in the video.
East Aurora, West Aurora and Indian Prairie school districts all said that students who walked out of class Friday would be marked as having an unexcused absence from class.
Both a Facebook post from East Aurora and the video message from the two districts’ superintendents included safety guidelines for students to follow if they did decide to walk out, including walking only on the sidewalk, not throwing items at others, having respectful interactions and following traffic laws.
“Videos from Monday’s walkout showed students not following these protocols — this is unacceptable and puts everyone at risk,” said East Aurora’s Facebook post. “We value student voice and encourage expression through safe, respectful means while remaining engaged in learning.”
In their video message, the two school districts’ superintendents said they were committed to finding a time outside of the school day for students and their families to make their voices heard in a way that is safe and respectful.
The Aurora Police Department, also in a post on Facebook, said Friday morning it was aware of several student walkouts planned for that day. Like the posts from the school districts, it also encouraged students to stay in school.
“For those who choose to participate, we ask that they do so peacefully, follow the law and help ensure the situation does not escalate,” the police’s Facebook post said.
The Aurora Police Department increased staffing and worked with community leaders, event marshals and organizers to have open lines of communication, to monitor conditions and to encourage peaceful participation, according to the post. It also warned residents of traffic disruptions near where gatherings would take place and encouraged travelers to find alternative routes.
On Monday, around 1,500 students from area schools walked out of school toward downtown Aurora. Three students were arrested during that protest and later charged with multiple crimes, which drew criticism from local officials and sparked a protest at the Aurora Police Department on Tuesday evening.
Specifically, the three students were charged with improper walking in the roadway, obstructing and resisting a peace officer, officials said. One of the three was also charged with aggravated battery to a police officer.
In a Facebook post, police said that two of the students were “contributing to the unsafe conditions” and were taken into custody after they resisted officers’ attempts to detain and identify them. The third student then “intervened and punched an officer in the head, causing a laceration,” according to the post.
Students were given many opportunities to move out of traffic and continue their demonstration safely, Aurora Chief of Police Matt Thomas said in a separate Facebook post.
As the situation continued, officers saw rocks and water bottles being thrown at police vehicles, physical fights breaking out among students, intimidation of passing drivers and reckless driving close to the crowd, Thomas said in his post.
An officer then approached two protesters who police believed were the main contributors to the ongoing unsafe and unlawful behavior, according to Thomas. He said that, despite clear direction, the encounter quickly escalated when the two pulled away and actively attempted to evade the officer, so several additional officers came to that officer’s assistance.
Videos circulating online seem to show what Thomas describes in his post: police officers tackling and wrestling protesters to the ground, and a protester punching an officer in the head. He said that the video shared online shows an officer tackling someone who appeared to be compliant, but said that the brief clips do not capture the full sequence of events.
The use of force is now under investigation by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, which has received all body-worn camera footage, reports and related evidence from the Aurora Police Department, the office said in a news release Thursday.
A comprehensive review of all available information will be done to see whether the actions were consistent with department policy, established training and applicable law, according to the release. Officials said that, once the review is complete, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office will publish a full report with its findings to the police department and to the public.
Villa, in a statement made following Monday’s protest, said that the videos circulating online are “deeply disturbing and unacceptable” and show young people being “restrained and handled like criminals in front of their peers,” she said.
“Young people from our community peacefully exercised their constitutional right to protest the harmful actions of ICE and were met with force and violence by the institution entrusted with their safety,” she said. “Police officers are responsible for protecting every member of our community, especially children.”
A protest was held on Tuesday evening in response to the actions of police at the Monday event and the arrest of three students during the walkout. Those protesters, standing in front of the Aurora Police Department, chanted and held signs against both ICE and the police department, called for the charges to be dropped against the students and called for Police Chief Thomas to be fired.
George Gutierrez, who was one of many speakers at the Tuesday evening protest and last year was awarded $1 million in a lawsuit against an Aurora police officer for excessive force, said he attended to hold the Aurora Police Department accountable.
There’s a right way to protest that’s respectful, according to Gutierrez. But even if the students did something wrong, he said, that doesn’t make it right for the police to use excessive force.
“They need to be held accountable, because they always talk about holding us accountable, but they never hold themselves accountable,” Gutierrez said.
Aurora Mayor John Laesch, at a meeting of the Aurora City Council on Tuesday evening, said he admired the students’ efforts to take a stand and make their voices heard but encouraged them to take an “alternative and equally-effective course of action” by getting involved in local community watch and rapid response groups or by forming their own groups to “strengthen the community response” to federal immigration enforcement agents.
If students are going to protest, Aurora wants to work with them to make sure their voices are heard in a safe way, according to Laesch. At Monday’s protest, many stuck to sidewalks but a small number insisted on walking in the street and antagonized the police by throwing water bottles at their vehicles, he said.
“I’m disturbed that children feel compelled to leave school in the first place and march in the streets over an issue that adults should be dealing with in Washington, D.C., but that’s the times that we’re living in,” he said.
After Friday’s protest, Laesch told The Beacon-News that students may not have been the most coordinated, but they seemed to hear the message about staying on the sidewalks. Plus many adults from local groups came out to marshal the protest, he said.
“The community stepped up. The police hung back,” Laesch said of the protest on Friday. “We didn’t have any interactions between protesters and police, which is what I wanted, and no kids got hurt.
“So overall, I think it was a success,” he said.
Student walkouts to protest ICE have been happening in the Chicago area since at least October, when hundreds of students in Little Village walked out of class after several people were taken into custody in their neighborhood the week before. But this month has seen a high number of these types of protests, including in Chicago’s North Side,Elgin, Naperville, Waukegan and Hammond, Indiana.
AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora City Council on Monday night approved an agreement between the Regional Transportation District (RTD) and Aurora police, which will allow APD access to RTD’s camera feeds in the city.
Those cameras are placed on RTD property, including dozens of bus and rail stations.
“We’ve never had to clear any hurdles with them providing that footage to us,” Aurora Sgt. Matthew Longshore told Denver7. “This is just one of those elements now that we actually have footage readily available to our investigators or our officers, in that real time… We would be able to view it live. We’d be able to go back 12, 24 hours to kind of view what happened previously.”
Longshore called the agreement an expansion of the agencies’ already strong partnership.”
“This is about public safety,” he said. “The more eyes we have in the community, the better.”
Denver7
A passenger moves across an RTD light rail platform.
This is the latest example of Aurora police promoting technology as a potential solution to fight crime. In the fall, the department gained approval to use artificial intelligence facial recognition technology.
But that move and others, including the use of drones and automated license plate cameras known as Flock cameras, have sparked privacy and transparency concerns in Aurora and around the Denver metro.
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A public commenter from the Denver Aurora Community Action Committee spoke out against the AI facial technology and increased surveillance in general during Monday’s Aurora City Council meeting.
“You cannot impose surveillance technology on a community that does not trust you, and that distrust is earned,” she said. “How can we possibly trust APD with this tool when there is a non-zero chance they will share our faces and data with agencies like ICE?”
“You ask us to trust a pipeline of surveillance that leads directly to deportation and death.”
APD says the cameras are only meant to respond to 911 calls or to address broader crime trends.
“If you know, we have an increase in crime, or if there’s something suspicious happening in the area,” Longshore said. “There’s typically an audit log that’s available on all of our cameras, so we can see who’s viewing it and when. There are certain things in place to be able to make sure that officers are doing things specifically for certain reasons.
Denver7 reached out to RTD for comment on the agreement and is waiting to hear back.
RTD agrees to share camera feeds with Aurora Police
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AURORA, Colo. — Police in Aurora are investigating a shooting inside an apartment unit that seriously wounded a man Saturday night.
It happened around 9 p.m. at the Preserve apartment complex, 1076 S. Elkhart Way in Aurora.
Police said the victim, visiting an apartment unit, was shot after unknown guests arrived, got into an argument that turned physical, and one of them opened fire.
The suspects fled in a silver sedan and have not been identified.
Police said it’s unclear whether the victim was targeted. He remains hospitalized with serious injuries.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
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AURORA, Colo. — Police in Aurora are investigating a shooting inside a gas station that wounded an uninvolved bystander amid a dispute between two people early Sunday morning.
Police said one person, identified as 36-year-old Jimmie White, was arrested. A second person fled on foot.
The shooting happened just after midnight inside a gas station located in the 200 block of S. Sable Boulevard, according to police.
Police said two men were inside the store arguing when one shoved the other, causing a gun to discharge.
The bullet struck a bystander, who was treated for a non-life-threatening injury at a hospital, according to the department.
Police said officers quickly identified a suspect vehicle and arrested white after a high-risk traffic stop.
The department said White is facing multiple charges, including second-degree assault, prohibited use of a weapon, obstructing a peace officer/firearm, disorderly conduct, and DUI.
Police want to talk to the second man involved in the dispute.
Anyone with information is asked to call Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
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A man struck by multiple vehicles while crossing Tower Road late Thursday night, including two that reportedly left the scene, has died from his injuries, according to the Aurora Police Department.
Just before midnight on Thursday, Aurora officers responded to reports of a pedestrian down in the roadway after witnesses found a man, 23, lying in the crosswalk along the Unnamed Creek Trail at the 2700 block of South Tower Road.
The witnesses reported that two vehicles may have hit the man and left the scene. It is unclear if he would have survived his injuries if the first driver had stopped and sought assistance. A third vehicle also hit the man, but that driver stopped and is cooperating with the investigation.
Officers found no indications that alcohol or drugs were a factor. It isn’t known whether the pedestrian had the right of way or what the traffic signal indicated at the time of the accident.
The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office hasn’t released the man’s identity yet. Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.
AURORA, Colo. — A 25-year-old man was arrested for allegedly speeding through an Aurora intersection and fatally striking another driver while trying to evade a traffic stop.
Don Mai Phan, 25, of Aurora, was booked into the Aurora Municipal Detention Center around 7 p.m. Thursday for vehicular homicide and vehicular eluding, both felonies. He was also arrested for misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and speeding.
Denver7 Traffic
Police: Victim killed after speeding driver crashes into vehicle on Iliff Ave.
Lieutenant Chris Amsler with the Aurora Police Department’s Traffic Investigations Unit said an APD motorcycle officer was performing speed enforcement on northbound I-225 near Yale around 2 p.m. Thursday when he spotted a white BMW sedan going 84 mph in a 65 mph zone.
The officer pulled out to stop the BMW for speeding, but the driver reportedly did not stop. Amsler said the BMW drove on the left-hand shoulder, then crossed all three lanes of traffic to exit the interstate at Iliff.
The BMW driver — identified as Phan — was heading eastbound on Iliff when he ran a red light and struck a red Honda Civic that was making a left-hand turn from Blackhawk Street to go westbound on Iliff.
The force of the crash split the Honda Civic in half, according to Amsler. The rear end of the Civic struck a third car that was stopped in the left-hand turn lane to go southbound on Blackhawk, as well as a fourth vehicle that was stopped and waiting to go westbound on Iliff.
Watch our initial report on the crash below
Victim killed after speeding driver crashes into vehicle on Iliff Avenue in Aurora: Police
The motorcycle officer arrived 30 seconds after the crash and took Phan and his passenger — a 26-year-old man — into custody without incident. Amsler said the two were cooperative and were taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
The driver and sole occupant of the Honda Civic — a 25-year-old man — was pronounced dead at the scene, according to APD. The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office will release his identity at a later time.
No other injuries were reported.
APD said the crash is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
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The shooting happened on Sept. 18 at the Conoco gas station in the 200 block of South Havana Street near East Alameda Avenue.
In a press conference Friday, Chamberlain said the incident began at 7:33 p.m. when the suspect — identified as 17-year-old Blaze Aleczander Balle-Mason — called 911 and told the operator he had a loaded 9mm pistol in his pocket and planned to “shoot up” the gas station and surrounding area. He also reportedly said he wanted to shoot responding officers.
Three officers arrived at the scene at 7:43 p.m. with a “tactical plan” in which one officer was armed with a rifle, the second with a pistol and the third with a “40mm less-lethal launcher.”
Chamberlain said his officers approached the suspect, identified themselves as police and ordered the teen to show his hands. The 17-year-old ignored those commands, according to the police chief, and advanced toward the officers with one hand concealed in his pocket.
The officer with the “less-lethal launcher” fired “multiple rounds” at the 17-year-old, striking him, according to Chamberlain. The rounds, however, had “little to no impact or effect” on the suspect.
Chamberlain said his officers retreated around the corner, and the suspect began to “chase” police. The teen’s hand remained in his pocket, according to the police chief.
As the suspect neared the officers, one officer fired his weapon, striking the 17-year-old. Officers provided life-saving measures until medical personnel arrived.
The teen was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Watch Chief Chamberlain’s full press conference in the video player below
Aurora PD releases bodycam video from police shooting that killed 17-year-old: Full press conference
According to Chamberlain, the time between when officers first made contact with the suspect and when shots were fired was 15 seconds.
Investigators did not recover a handgun; however, Chamberlain cited the suspect’s 911 call, his failure to show his hands, the ineffectiveness of the “less-lethal” rounds, and his advancement toward officers as reasons for the lethal action.
“This incident — and there is no getting around this — this incident is tragic for everyone involved, and I mean that sincerely, for everybody involved,” Chamberlain said. “I mean, it’s tragic for the suspect. It’s tragic for the people that were there, that witnessed [it]. It’s tragic for the city of Aurora. It’s also incredibly tragic for the officers that were involved in this.”
Denver7 has been working to get answers about the police shooting, including why a mental health crisis team wasn’t dispatched, considering the teen threatened violence against officers in his 911 call.
“They are not for calls that involved active violence or the threat of active violence, and that’s what this call was,” Chamberlain responded. “This call was not a mental health call…. [Officers] are trained also in crisis intervention. Every member of our organization goes through a suicide by cop training… they understand de-escalation. So all of that stuff is part of what they have in their toolkit, all of that was exploited, all of that was used.”
Aurora
Chief shares why mental health officers did not respond to Aurora PD shooting
The Sept. 18 incident comes just weeks after Aurora police shot and killed Rajon Belt-Stubblefield, an unarmed Black man, after a confrontation following a traffic stop. Chamberlain said in both cases, his officers worked to prevent lethal force but were forced to use it.
“In both of these cases, whether people like it or not, the suspects’ actions created these rapidly evolving, life-threatening situations,” Chamberlain said Friday. “Our officers exploited de-escalation; our officers exploited communication; our officers attempted to exploit other tools and alternatives other than lethal force. Unfortunately, on both of these incidents, the suspect and the suspects did not allow that to occur. That is not something that is unknown; that is factual data. That is factual information that we have seen through the collection of evidence at this point in both of these investigations.”
Xavier Davis, president and lead mentor for ROYAL mentoring group, works with at-risk youth to stop violence in Aurora and Denver.
“We got two people that lost their lives that were unarmed,” he said of the recent police shootings of the Aurora teen and Rajon Belt-Stubblefield. “The shootings, the killings, are just, they’re just totally unnecessary.”
Davis said both adults and young people that he works with are feeling more on edge than ever because of economic uncertainty, which is something police should be aware of. He is also calling for changes to police training.
“We would rather him be in a hospital with a bullet in his leg than dead,” Davis said of the shooting victims. “When you have shootings like this, it creates more of a distrust with the community.”
Police said this incident is being investigated internally and by the district attorney’s office.
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AURORA, Colo. — Several people were injured — two critically — in a crash involving an SUV and an RTD bus in Aurora Thursday evening.
The Aurora Police Department said it is responding to the incident, which occurred at E. 30th Avenue and E. Parklane Drive.
#APDTrafficAlert: Officers are on scene of a crash involving an SUV and @RideRTD bus at E. 30th Ave and E. Parklane Drive.
Two occupants from the SUV, a small child and a woman, were both ejected from the vehicle and transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.… pic.twitter.com/Dk6mFE4GXD
According to Aurora PD, two occupants from the SUV — a woman and a small child — were both ejected from the vehicle. They were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
At least five people from the RTD bus have also been transported to the hospital, according to police. The extent of their injuries is not known at this time.
E. 30th Avenue is closed between Scranton and Ursula for an investigation.
Denver7 has a crew at the scene and is working to learn more information. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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AURORA, Colo. — A child was unharmed, and two people were arrested following a police pursuit in the Denver metro area Wednesday.
Around 5 p.m., detectives with the Aurora Police Department’s Robbery Investigative Unit spotted a Volvo sedan that was connected to a home invasion that occurred earlier in the day in the 1300 block of Idalia Court. The Volvo was seen driving near East Colfax Avenue and South Peoria Street.
Aurora PD said its detectives started following the vehicle while additional officers responded to the area as backup.
Officers initiated a traffic stop on the Volvo near Quebec Street and Northfield Boulevard. The driver did not stop, according to Aurora police, and a “pursuit was authorized.”
During the pursuit, the Volvo crashed into an uninvolved vehicle in the 5100 block of Quebec Street. The uninvolved driver was not injured, according to police.
Officers detained the Volvo’s female driver and the male passenger. Detectives also found a “young child” in the vehicle. The child’s age is not known at this time, but Aurora PD said they are approximately 3 years old.
Aurora police said officers did not previously see the child due to the Volvo’s dark-tinted windows. The department identified the Volvo passenger as the child’s father.
The child was unharmed and was returned to their mother, who came to the scene after the crash.
The man and woman were booked into the Aurora Municipal Detention Center. Aurora PD said the woman was arrested for felony eluding and child abuse. She is also suspected in the Idalia Court home invasion, but charges are pending further investigation.
The man was booked on an outstanding warrant, and additional charges are pending further investigation.
The Denver Police Department is investigating the crash, according to Aurora PD.
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An Aurora Police officer shot and killed a man over the weekend in what Aurora’s police chief described as a routine traffic stop that escalated quickly into a deadly confrontation.
It happened Saturday evening around 7:30pm. In a briefing with the media Chief Todd Chamberlain said the incident occurred at the intersection of 6th Avenue and Billings after a traffic infraction caused an officer to try to pull a suspect over, and the suspect rear-ended another vehicle.
“He tried to make a traffic stop,” said Chamberlain. “The behavior of the suspect was not normal. He plowed into another vehicle in front of him, which caused it with such force to go across the median and into oncoming traffic. He then crashed into another car. He refused at this point that we know for sure to listen to our officer’s directions. He refused to adhere to what the officer was saying.”
Chamberlain said the suspect became aggressive and approached the officer and that the lone officer on scene appeared to fire one to three shots. Neither the name of the officer or the man who was killed were immediately released. The officer was placed on paid administrative leave Saturday. Chamberlain said the department will release the officer’s body camera footage and said other cameras nearby captured the incident as well as videos from bystanders.
“So that’s the one thing that it doesn’t appear right now that we are lacking, is having a good understanding, from the aspect of digitally capturing of video capture, what this event involved, what occurred,” he said.`
He said they know without question there was a weapon on scene.
“There was discussion by the suspect trying to either retrieve that weapon or get assistance in dealing with this lone officer,” Chamberlain said.
The 18th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team will investigate the shooting. And the Aurora Police Department said it is also reviewing it and urged calm within the community and asked them to wait until the investigation unfolds and said there won’t be answers overnight.
“There’s a lot of information that we have to figure out. This is without question a tragedy at every level, there is nothing positive about this,” Chamberlain said. “There is nothing positive for our officer. There is nothing positive for the suspect involved for his family. There is nothing positive for the community that had to witness this.”
One thing that’s likely to come up in the investigation is why the officer involved did not render medical aid to the suspect. Chamberlain said that’s something APD would look into but said an officer has to feel secure in being able to provide that aid.
In recent years Aurora’s Black community has voiced its distrust in APD due to a pattern of racial profiling tactics from officers. The death of Elijah McClain in 2019 prompted the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to enter into a consent decree with Aurora on officer training after the office found a pattern and practice of racially-biased policing. It’s the first time in Colorado history that a city has entered into such an agreement with the state.
Chamberlain joined APD as chief in August of 2024, and became the first permanent police chief for Aurora since 2022. He has said rebuilding community trust is a top priority.
AURORA, Colo. — The Community College of Aurora CentreTech Campus was put on secure status Wednesday morning amid a police search for the suspect in an armed robbery.
Attention: CCA CentreTech Campus is on Secure Status for police activity in the area. Please remain inside. All exterior doors have been locked, and we will update once the area is secure. More to come. Do not attend classes at CTC until confirmation from APD campus is secure. pic.twitter.com/H7MagGVqWt
Aurora police said a man is accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint Wednesday morning near the intersection of S Chambers Road and Alameda Avenue.
He was reported wearing all black with a black ski mask covering his face.
Community College of Aurora asked anyone on CentreTech’s Campus to remain inside. All exterior doors have been locked, and all students and teachers are asked to not attend classes until the college gets confirmation from Aurora police the area is safe.
Officers are currently looking for a man wanted for robbing a woman at gunpoint this morning near Chambers and Alameda. The man was wearing all black and had a black ski mask on.
Aurora police asked anyone who sees suspicious activity to call 911 and report immediately.
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AURORA, Colo — Police in Aurora are investigating a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle that left the rider dead Sunday afternoon.
It happened around 2 p.m. near E. 23rd Avenue and N. Peoria Street.
Police said a man riding a motorcycle was traveling northbound on N. Peoria Street when he collided with a left-turning sedan at the E. 23rd Avenue intersection.
The man was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. His identity will be released by the Adam’s County Coroner’s Office at a later time.
Police believe the motorcyclist was traveling at a high rate of speed, which contributed to the crash.
No other injuries were reported. Police said the driver of the sedan was cooperative on the scene.
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AURORA, Colo. — Police in Aurora are searching for the suspects who posed as delivery drivers and robbed a family at gunpoint in their home.
The incident happened Wednesday at 8:45 p.m. in the 4100 block of S. Richfield Street. Police said the suspects were dressed in construction vests and claimed they were there to drop off a package.
Denver7 spoke with the Rodriguez family Saturday, who said they’re still processing everything they’ve been through over the past few days.
Angelo Medina Rodriguez said he had ordered a video game for his son on Amazon, so he didn’t think much of it when Rodriguez saw a man through his Ring Doorbell video saying he had a package to deliver.
Rodriguez said his 6-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter were home with their friend and caretaker, David Hernandez, at the time.
When they opened the door, he said three men with guns forced their way in, demanding money.
“When [David] opened the door, they immediately pushed him and grabbed him by the neck,” Rodriguez said in Spanish. “They grabbed my daughter and started choking her.”
Hernandez told Denver7 that he was able to escape out the back door and run to a neighbor’s house for help.
“There was no need to hurt the kids,” Hernandez said. Since the incident, he said he hasn’t been able to sleep.
Rodriguez said his son and daughter suffered minor injuries from the attack and went to the hospital.
Rodriguez said the most challenging part of it has been how much it has impacted his wife and kids.
“My wife doesn’t want to come out, doesn’t want to eat,” he said. “My daughter won’t come out of her room.”
Rodriguez said he’s hoping his family can move to a new home soon because they no longer feel comfortable or safe living there.
Aurora investigators believe the family was targeted due to a business that was being run out of the home. The thieves stole personal items and cash from the business, according to police.
The Aurora Police Department is urging the community to be cautious of strangers at their doors. Delivery drivers traditionally wear branded uniforms, and you typically do not need to be home to receive a package.
Police also suggest that you consider alternate delivery options, such as picking up your mail from a P.O. box or choosing a “Hold for Pickup” option.
If something seems suspicious with your mail or delivery, contact the carrier and report the incident to your local police department.
Anyone with information about the Aurora home invasion is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
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AURORA, Colo. — The Aurora Fire Rescue Hazardous Materials Team responded to a crash Thursday morning involving a tanker truck, causing it to spill fuel on the road.
One person was taken to a nearby hospital to get treatment for non-life threatening injuries, according to AFR.
Aurora Fire Rescue and @AuroraPD responded to an auto accident involving hazardous materials near Airport Boulevard and 22nd Ave. AFR’s Hazardous Materials Team identified a saddle tank containing approximately 100 gallons of fuel that was leaking. Fire crews successfully… pic.twitter.com/2arAcPX7c1
— Aurora Fire Rescue (@AuroraFireDpt) May 30, 2024
The truck carrying approximately 100 gallons of fuel wrecked near Airport Boulevard and 22nd Ave. around 6 a.m. Thursday, Aurora Fire Rescue said.
The hazardous materials team got the leak under control, using absorbent material, according to AFR, and crews were able to safely remove the remaining fuel from the tank.
The Aurora Police Department is investigating what happened.
It will take some time to mop up that major fuel spill at this crash on Airport at 22nd. Use Tower Rd as the alternate. pic.twitter.com/rbXthfnTrf
AURORA, Colo. — The child who was inside a car when it was stolen from a gas station in Aurora has been found safe, police said.
An Amber Alert that was issued late Sunday has been deactivated. Police said the suspect was taken into custody.
The stolen car and the 6-year-old girl were found in Weld County, according to police, about 75 miles away from the intersection of Iliff and Havana where the car was stolen around 9 p.m. Sunday.
That car had been left running when it parked in front of the gas station store, police told Denver7’s Claire Lavezzorio.
AURORA, Colo. — Police in Aurora are searching for an 11-year-old boy who went missing Saturday afternoon.
Jeremiah was last seen on a black and red BMX bike around 2:30 p.m. at Rocky Ridge Park, located at E. Mississippi Avenue and S. Lewiston Street.
Police said the 11-year-old left the park voluntarily but did not return home.
Jeremiah is described as a 5-foot-tall white male with a green cast on his arm. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with a black Doberman dog printed on the front and light blue Jeans.
If seen, contact Aurora police.
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AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Some 40-plus tenants at The Meadows at Dunkirk apartment complex in Aurora say they’re being asked to pay back rent for months they know they already paid.
“Dec. 13, actually, I got a demand letter stating that I’d owe $4,500 on back rent,” said one tenant, who asked FOX31 not to reveal her identity. She said the demand letter posted on her door said she had unpaid rent going back to June 2023.
“Next morning, I called and I called and I called, and I like to say that I called like a toxic girlfriend, because they weren’t answering,” the woman said of the Dunkirk leasing office. She would soon learn she was among at least 40 residents who received a similar notice.
Pedcor Management hasn’t responded to calls or emails from the Problem Solvers, but tenants told FOX31 they were told by the lead leasing agent that another leasing agent in the office, who no longer works for Pedcor, had been embezzling rent checks and money orders for months.
A Facebook group called Dunkirk Chronicles names the accused leasing agent and includes comments from multiple tenants, who are furious they are being asked to make up for the missing funds.
“Pedcor is trying to get over on everyone! are they going to evict 40+ people at the same time? They can’t do this!” one woman posted.
The Meadows at Dunkirk apartments in Aurora (KDVR)
Fraud reported to Aurora police — the same day as tenant rent demands
An Aurora Police Department spokeswoman told the Problem Solvers that Dec. 13 — the day tenants received rent demand letters — is the same day the department received a fraud and theft report from Pedcor Management, which operates The Meadows at Dunkirk.
Tenants told FOX31 no one in management told them Pedcor had filed a police report alleging fraud and theft while, on the same day, it was asking residents to prove they had paid rent from months prior.
“How do you go a month in a regular apartment complex without paying rent and not getting a demand or an eviction notice? How? Let alone six months with 40-plus people not paying seems absurd,” said the anonymous tenant, who said Pedcor should have realized months earlier that rent checks were disappearing.
That tenant said asking tenants to pay for rent again because management failed to notice rent payments hadn’t been deposited for months was unfathomable.
“They’re psychotic. No one’s going to pay that back. And I mean, who has $5,000 sitting in their bank account?” the tenant said.
Employee fired after Problem Solvers interview
“As long as they cleared mine (rental account), I guess I’m supposed to just, like, shut up about it,” said Xavier Collins, who is both a tenant and former maintenance man at The Meadows at Dunkirk. “But I know a lot of these people personally, so I feel for them.”
Collins learned he was also accused of being months behind on rent but said a leasing agent told him what was really going on.
“This particular leasing agent did pull me and my work agent to the side and say that they had witnessed seeing these money orders being taken, cashed out” by another leasing agent, he said.
Collins said he thinks his account was cleared only because he works for Pedcor, although FOX31 learned he was fired after granting the Problem Solvers an interview.
“As of right now, they’re just giving everybody the runaround, and then you’re still telling the residents, ‘Show me something, prove it, prove it.’ Some people don’t keep up with those money orders. After six months to a year, you toss it away because they’re just keeping space in your drawer. But that’s not fair,” Collins said.
The tenant who spoke anonymously with the Problem Solvers said she provided past screenshots of money orders she had submitted — and had even taken cellphone videos of herself dropping off past rent payments — but said: “Two weeks ago, I got a notice on my door saying that whatever evidence residents have provided was not sufficient evidence.”
HUD responds after fraud claims at low-income apartments
When FOX31 visited the leasing office, the doors were locked and a sign said the office was now open by appointment only and that the complex was “no longer showing units at this time” for rent.
Tenants complain management hasn’t returned most phone calls or emails since Dec. 13.
Aurora police said it was still waiting on Pedcor Management to provide documents before it could begin an investigation, but it encouraged residents who think they’ve been caught up in possible fraud to contact Detective Gennifer Wolf at 303-739-6133.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development insures the mortgage on the low-income property but does not own The Meadows at Dunkirk or manage the property.
In a statement, a HUD spokesman told FOX31 it learned “that Pedcor was made aware on December 12th, 2023, that an employee had been taking residents money orders. Pedcor immediately terminated the employee and filed a police report with the Aurora police department. According to Pedcor, demands for non-payment of rent for the month December had already been posted, so many tenants that were affected did receive demand notices. Pedcor reports that affected tenants have been contacting management to notify Pedcor that rent had already been paid. When Pedcor receives this notification, they are working with the tenant to correct the accounts.”
What remains unexplained is why Pedcor Management ever scared residents into thinking they might be forced to pay rent twice. Again, Pedcor told HUD it fired an employee for stealing residents’ money orders on Dec. 12 but still posted demand letters to residents on Dec. 13, the same day it reported the theft to Aurora police.
Some residents said they were told they owed months of back rent, not just December, which appears to contradict what Pedcor told HUD.
A HUD spokesman added that Pedcor confirmed: “They are aware they cannot double charge tenants for rent and will not evict any tenants that did pay their rent. While Pedcor representatives believe they have an accurate listing of those residents who were affected by this situation, they urge all affected tenants to reach out to Pedcor about any demand notice they received to ensure their ledgers are reviewed and corrected.”
Residents told FOX31 they’ve been trying to contact Pedcor for nearly two months to have their ledgers corrected but haven’t been able to reach a representative.
