Nearly five months after an Aurora police officer shot and killed an unarmed Black man outside of an apartment complex while trying to serve an arrest warrant, the city’s independent consent decree monitor has raised more questions about his death.
Kilyn Lewis was raising his hands in the air when Aurora police SWAT officer Michael Dieck shot the 37-year-old outside an apartment complex on May 23, according to body camera footage. Lewis died from a single gunshot wound two days later.
“I’m only one little voice and one little voice only, but I stand for my son and he did not deserve to die like that,” Lewis’ father, Robert, said at a rally outside the Aurora Municipal Center last week.
Lewis was a suspect in a May 5 first-degree attempted murder in Denver but was unarmed when Dieck fatally shot him.
The independent consent decree monitor was initially set up following the death of Elijah McClain to improve how Aurora officers use force and to decrease racially biased policing. IntegrAssure, a Florida-based firm that specializes in overseeing police departments, was hired as Aurora’s consent decree monitor.
In a report released last week, IntegrAssure raised “several critical questions” for the Aurora Police Department to address in its administrative review of the shooting and Lewis’ death.
The monitor questioned why Aurora’s SWAT was involved in executing a Denver arrest warrant, why SWAT members didn’t use or attempt to use any less lethal options when trying to arrest Lewis and why the officer who shot Lewis was retained with the police department and SWAT after being involved in previous shootings.
“The tactics employed during the high-risk stop, including the decision to approach the subject without cover and without a less lethal option, warrant a thorough examination,” the report stated. “…The officer who discharged his weapon is a 12-year APD veteran with eight years on the SWAT team who has been involved in prior shootings.”
IntegrAssure said Dieck’s history of involvement with shootings raises potential questions about the selection criteria for officers assigned to SWAT operations and the Aurora Police Department’s retention policies for members of the SWAT team.
The report also questioned the extent to which Aurora SWAT confirmed the facts related to the warrant before engaging Lewis, given that it was a Denver case, and if the involvement of SWAT was “necessary and appropriate.”
Body-camera footage showed that less lethal options were not used or considered by SWAT against Lewis, monitor officials said in the report.
“APD must evaluate whether the exclusion of less lethal options was consistent with APD’s policies and best practice and whether a different approach could have resulted in a better outcome,” the report stated.
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While the Arapahoe County District Attorney John Kellner did not file charges against Dieck for Lewis’ death, the police department is still conducting an administrative review and force review board of the shooting.
In a decision letter released earlier this month, Kellner said that Dieck “reasonably believed there was an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury,” justifying the deadly use of force under Colorado law.
Kellner also presented the case to an Arapahoe County grand jury for consideration, which declined to accept the case for further investigation, according to the letter.
“There’s always an opportunity for us to review our policies, procedures and best practices in law enforcement and we will continue to do that and make changes as needed,” Aurora Police Department public information officer Matthew Longshore said.
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