{"id":1099,"date":"2026-05-18T21:02:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1099"},"modified":"2026-05-18T21:02:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T21:02:42","slug":"aurora-lawmakers-consider-restricting-police-communications-citing-politicized-messaging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1099","title":{"rendered":"Aurora lawmakers consider restricting police communications citing \u2018politicized\u2019 messaging"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

AURORA<\/strong> | An emergency resolution on Monday\u2019s city council agenda would restrict public and media communications from the Aurora Police Department, including social media posts and press releases.<\/p>\n

The resolution, brought by Councilmember Alison Coombs, would require police communications to be approved by the city communications department, as well as prohibit posting mugshots in most cases until the suspect is convicted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It also restricts members of the police department from commenting in their official capacities on \u201cofficial social media sites, media releases, or as a representative of the City on any pending or enacted city, state, or federal legislation,\u201d unless with prior approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coombs said past and recent public comments and social media posts prompted her concern, including a post about proposed legislation and past comments from police on suspects\u2019 personal lives.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

In a statement, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain on Monday said the resolution would unfairly silence his office over diverging viewpoints and hamper the office\u2019s ability to do its job.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be able to agree to disagree, but it increasingly appears that when information, perspectives, or facts do not align with the views of certain groups, the answer is to silence those voices rather than allow open and honest public discussion,\u201d Chamberlain said. \u201cAnd if I as a public safety leader cannot discuss or share concerns without reprisal from the local level, my department and I are unable to effectively be what Aurora needs \u2014 candid, forthright, and open about how our work impacts the daily lives of those we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chamberlain said his office has been successful with its approach to transparency and direct communication, citing a drop in crime, including the city\u2019s reduced homicide numbers, improving community trust surveys and significant compliance with the consent decree. He said his department \u201chas been nothing but professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coombs strongly disagreed that the police department\u2019s communications, and those of the chief, have been professional, saying she feels there have been several instances of police communications undermining public trust or inappropriately taking political or policy stances.<\/p>\n

She said the chief\u2019s public comments about the personal life and gender identity of Blaze Aleczander Balle-Mason as unnecessary and harmful. Balle-Mason was a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by police in September after they called 911 and claimed they planned to \u201cshoot up\u201d a gas station and responding officers in a suspected attempt to die by suicide by cop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat really created a lot of concern and fearfulness and perpetuated stereotypes about transgender and non-binary people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Coombs said she felt it was necessary to take formal action through a resolution because the chief has \u201cdemonstrated that he\u2019s uninterested and unwilling to be responsive\u201d to requests that communications be professional and factual.<\/p>\n

The \u201cchief is free, as an individual, to comment on anything he wants to comment on, but he\u2019s not free to use the city\u2019s resources, the city\u2019s name, the badge, the position in ways that undermine the community\u2019s relationship with the city and the department,\u201d Coombs said.<\/p>\n

To respond to some concerns that the resolution would limit or delay critical information in a public safety incident, Coombs said she plans to offer amendments to the resolution to provide more flexibility during a threat or emergency situation, including allowing mugshots to be posted if necessary. Another planned amendment will remove the language requiring police communications to be approved by the city and clarify that police communications must follow existing city policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think (the resolution) will ensure that the police are providing factual and accurate information, not speculation or opinion, and transparency relies on facts and accuracy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The resolution says the city desires consistency in communications on policy positions and notes that only city council, not other city employees, can take an official position on state or federal legislation.<\/p>\n

Coombs pointed to a recent social media post from the Aurora Police Department that opposed legislation, SB26-190, which imposes new transparency requirements across the state on police in officer-involved shootings.<\/p>\n

The bill, which is waiting for Gov. Jared Polis\u2019 signature to become law, lays out a timeline for when police must share information with the families of people killed in officer-involved incidents, as well as expands who can get access to unedited body-worn cameras and audio recordings. It also prohibits police from making statements that may prejudice any litigation.<\/p>\n

Sponsors of the bill said during hearings that some use-of-force cases arising from Aurora, including the deaths of Kilyn Lewis and Rajon Belt-Stubblefield, were linked to their carrying the bill.<\/p>\n

The Aurora Police Department\u2019s post, which is on X and Facebook, raises several concerns with the bill, saying it would prevent police from responding to misinformation and \u201ctakes us back to the days of saying no comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice are no longer allowed to answer tough questions on scene or provide context to events \u2013 but anyone else in the community can,\u201d the post says.<\/p>\n

The post added that releasing unedited body-worn footage could negatively impact the privacy and dignity of the people and families involved. The post was not attributed to a specific author, though it quoted from an interview Chamberlain did with Fox 31 TV in Denver.<\/p>\n

Colorado Democratic Senate President James Coleman said Monday he was surprised by the Aurora Police Department\u2019s comments on the bill because he worked with law enforcement groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police, to craft the language in the legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the intent of that, which we came to an agreement on that language together, was that it would not jeopardize (police) statements and the body cam footage would not jeopardize the integrity of the criminal justice process, but it would also allow those families to have information that they may not have received weeks or months after their loved one life was lost,\u201d Coleman said.<\/p>\n

He said he stands by the legislation and is glad to have worked with both law enforcement groups and the families of people killed to promote more transparency.<\/p>\n

Coombs said her intent with the resolution is to make sure police communications are transparent and accurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want consistency, transparency, ensuring that professional standards and city policies are adhered to, and refraining from speculation and opinion,\u201d Coombs said.<\/p>\n

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AURORA | An emergency resolution on Monday\u2019s city council agenda would restrict public and media communications from the Aurora Police Department, including social media posts and press releases. The resolution, brought by Councilmember Alison Coombs, would require police communications to be approved by the city communications department, as well as prohibit posting mugshots in most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[12,1528,1529,1530,1531,1532,1533],"class_list":["post-1099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro","tag-aurora-police-department","tag-blaze-aleczander-balle-mason","tag-city-communications-department","tag-colorado-democratic-senate","tag-councilmember-alison-coombs","tag-sb26-190","tag-todd-chamberlain"],"yoast_head":"\nAurora lawmakers consider restricting police communications citing \u2018politicized\u2019 messaging - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1099\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aurora lawmakers consider restricting police communications citing \u2018politicized\u2019 messaging - Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AURORA | An emergency resolution on Monday\u2019s city council agenda would restrict public and media communications from the Aurora Police Department, including social media posts and press releases. 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