Aurora has settled a federal lawsuit brought by a protester last year against the city over public comment rules at city council meetings, with the city agreeing to provide up to one hour for the public to speak at the start of regularly scheduled meetings.
The agreement, which gives each speaker a maximum of three minutes at the microphone, will last for three years.
In a joint statement issued Monday, the city and plaintiff MiDian Shofner, who filed the suit under the last name Holmes, said both parties are “thankful to reach this resolution that affirms the value of the community’s perspective in the democratic process.”
Shofner, a frequent speaker at Aurora council meetings, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver in June after the Aurora City Council decided to meet virtually and do away with public comment sessions until the suburban city resolved a separate lawsuit filed by the family of a Black man fatally shot by Aurora police.
Shofner said the council’s decision to end public comment June 9 was a vote “to restrict one viewpoint: the viewpoint criticizing the (Aurora Police Department’s) killing of (Kilyn) Lewis and Aurora’s inadequate response to it.”
Lewis, 37, was shot and killed by an Aurora SWAT officer on May 23, 2024, at an apartment complex in the city. He was unarmed. Police had been seeking Lewis on suspicion of attempted murder in Denver.
Since the shooting, council meetings have at times descended into chaos as protesters have become loud and unruly, on occasion sending elected leaders behind closed doors to finish business remotely. The settlement announced Monday also commits the city to develop rules governing conduct in the council chamber.
The settlement stipulates that council meetings over the next three years will be held in-person, “except in situations where there is a bona fide threat of physical violence that prevents holding an in-person meeting” or “a public health emergency that prevents holding an in-person meeting.”
Aurora City Council restored public comment a month after it suspended it last year and returned to in-person council meetings in November. A new, more progressive council took the helm on Dec. 1 after the November election.
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