Dozens of angry protesters briefly shut down an Aurora City Council meeting on Monday night. The crowd used a public comment period to express outrage over the fatal shooting of Kilyn Lewis by an Aurora police officer in May. Lewis had been holding a cell phone when he was shot by an Aurora police officer.
Defying security, the protesters refused to leave their banners and signs outside the chamber. They also ignored Mayor Mike Coffman’s request that they refrain from chanting and shouting, instead calling on the mayor to resign.
Numerous members of the group also took turns at the microphone demanding that officer Michael Dieck be prosecuted for murder. Body-worn camera footage showed Lewis was unarmed when Dieck fatally shot him. At the time, SWAT teams were attempting to arrest Lewis in connection to an attempted homicide.
“Each and every time that a Black life is claimed, you sit up here with a posture that says this is just the way society goes,” activist MiDian Holmes told the council when it was her turn to speak. “Our community has always been resilient, right? We say that all the time. The Black community is resilient. The part we don’t don’t talk about is that it’s unjustified resilience.”
During the public comment period, Aurora resident Robbie Dejonge pushed back against the demonstrators and said, “all lives matter.” The protesters at first shouted her down. Then, they strode down the aisles from their seats, sat down in front of council members and began chanting and shouting, forcing Mayor Coffman to call a 20-minute recess.
When Council returned, the crowd allowed Dejonge to finish her comments. Then more attendees denounced Dieck, the Aurora police, Coffman and the council.
