AURORA | City lawmakers on Monday approved measures intended to create an Office of Public Safety Accountability, a permanent monitoring office to oversee police, fire, 911 and detention as well as inspect a federal immigration jail in Aurora.

The proposal to create a review process for police has so far garnered strong approval among a city council that rarely sees such agreement among issues affecting the Aurora Police Department.

The office’s duties will include investigating critical public safety incidents that result in serious injury or death, as well as ongoing reviews of public safety operations. It also will share information with the public, provide liaisons to impacted families and conduct community engagement.

The office’s duties will include investigating critical public safety incidents that result in serious injury or death, as well as ongoing reviews of public safety operations. It also will share information with the public, provide liaisons to impacted families and conduct community engagement.

Creation of the office follows years of controversy and efforts to improve accountability and transparency in police and fire departments after the death of Elijah McClain in 2019, which, among other cases, prompted state investigators to find a pattern of racial bias and excessive use of force.

Since 2022, the city police reform efforts have been reviewed by a contracted monitor, which has released periodic progress reports about training and policy updates. The April report found that police and fire departments are substantially compliant with the consent decree’s mandates. 

The report also identified the need for the city to implement an independent monitoring system to sustain the changes and progress.

Also approved were measures directing the city to find ways to inspect living conditions at the for-profit GEO ICE immigration detention facility in north Aurora.

Progressive members of the council backed the new oversight measures while city council Republicans and conservatives opposed it.

The package consists of a resolution that would give city council oversight on contracts with immigration enforcement and detention agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and GEO Group, as well as ordinances requiring detention facilities in the city to undergo regular city inspections and report disease outbreaks.

Several residents at Monday’s meeting urged the council to support the oversight measures as a way to address some of the allegations of inhumane conditions. 

“It’s important that we do these inspections because that little tiny bit of harm reduction is one of the most truly impactful things that you as a council have the power to do,” Aly DeWills-Marcano said. “Prevent infectious diseases from spreading, stop abuse and neglect and save lives.”

The resolution and ordinances stem from a number of concerns with the health and safety of people detained at the GEO facility. Earlier this year, the Adams County Health Department reported that staff at the GEO facility delayed and denied access to facility employees during an investigation about a potential flu outbreak. 

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