Aurora police officers are now allowed to chase after suspected DUIs and stolen vehicles.
The Aurora Police Department recently revised its pursuit policy.
“Before they could only go into pursuit of individuals if there was violence related or it was an act of violent crime,” said Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain. “So this is more in line with nonviolent, but still just as impactful to the safety and the wellbeing of the community.”
Officers are also authorized to pursue a suspect if they have committed a felony and present a serious risk to public safety if not immediately apprehended or a crime involving a firearm that poses a serious threat of harm to the public.
APD used recent statistics to help with revisions of the pursuit policy. Since 2019, the officers found over 27,000 vehicles that were considered stolen in Aurora.
Chamberlain said there are likely more factors when a car is stolen.
“Were there other crimes that occurred? Were there other victimizations that occurred besides just the person who had their property taken? Were those cars used for other crimes, other events, other circumstances that put the community and the safety of Aurora at risk,” he said.
In that same period, Aurora 911 dispatch received more than 8,400 calls related to DUIs. Of those calls, 571 of them resulted in injuries or death.
According to Philadelphia-based law firm van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin, and Lindheim, Aurora was one of four Colorado included in a national list of cities with the highest rate of fatal drunk driving in 2024. Aurora was ranked 28th, making it the second-highest in Colorado. Pueblo was ranked the highest at third in the U.S.
“They could be aware of a DUI. They could be aware of a stolen car. But if those individuals did not stop, the officers had no recourse to follow, had no opportunities for apprehension, and basically all those individuals had to do was hit the accelerator and drive away and there was really no accountability component,” Chamberlain said. “Hopefully this will be a deterrent to that.”
Chamberlain reiterated that safety is the No. 1 priority when it comes to revising the pursuit policy.
“I think it's really important to make sure that we always put a human to those numbers and that was 27,000 people that couldn't take their kids to school, couldn't go to work, couldn't go to church, couldn't live their life, and it turned it upside down,” Chamberlain said. “And I think sometimes those who get forgotten are the victims.
The new policy went into effect on March 5.
