It has been a long, continuous journey for LaRonda Jones as she seeks justice for her son Kilyn Lewis.
She has traveled between her home in Georgia and Colorado almost a dozen times searching for answers as to why her son was shot and killed in a confrontation with Aurora police officers in May 2024.
The family spent its first Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays without him. Jones said it’s been hard not having him around. But, they are coping with it the best way they can.
“When we have family engagements, it's not the same. It would never be the same anymore,” Jones said. “He was the light of all holidays for everybody. And hearing that laughter, the joking, just standup comedy, it's not there anymore.”
In an interview with Colorado Matters, Jones said her family has received strong support from the community and others. But, 37-year-old Lewis’ two children have been hurting the most.
“The kids are having to take counseling because they have been missing their dad so deeply,” Jones said. “No longer spend that quality time as father to son. And just being there for them, having somebody to laugh with and joke with and play with and going places with. Kilyn is definitely a family man. And of course not only his children are missing that so deeply. We all are.”
What happened
In late May last year, officers attempted to arrest Lewis on a warrant issued by the Denver Police Department. Lewis was wanted in connection to an attempted homicide case that occurred earlier in the month.
Officers arrived at the Edenbrook condominiums in west-central Aurora as Lewis was getting out of his red Chevy Monte Carlo. Body-worn camera footage shows him with his hands visible when commanded to do so. In his right hand is a black object that turned out to be a cell phone. He was also holding fruit snacks.
As he appears to bend his knees in compliance with officers’ commands, Aurora SWAT team officer Micheal Dieck fired one shot into Lewis’ stomach. He died at the hospital two days later.
The then-18th Judicial District attorney, John Kellner, declined to press charges against Deick after a Critical Response Team Investigation (CIRT). He said in a decision letter that he didn’t think there was enough evidence to prove that Dieck committed a crime.
Kellner also cited Lewis’s criminal past as one of the reasons. Jones said her son had changed his life around at the time at the time of his death.
“I had many people come to me when I first came here to Colorado … to tell me all the good things my son had done for them. And I didn't even know these people at all,” Jones said. “ One after another came to me to tell me all these stories, how my son was a lifesaver for them in their time of need. ”
An Aurora Police Department investigation later in 2024 determined that Dieck didn’t violate police policy in shooting and killing Lewis. According to the investigation, Lewis stepping forward toward the police and holding the object were in line with behavior that warranted the use of deadly force.
Consent decree monitor raises questions
Jones said her heart sank when she got word of the news.
“They're not about justice. They're about injustice. And for a PD not even get a slap on the wrist, nothing,” Jones said. “And from my understanding, this has been going on for decades and nothing has happened to them for their line of character, for their actions, for any of it. They have not been held for accountability nor have they held up what they were sworn in for their oath.”
Jones said Aurora Police Department Chief Chamberlain hasn’t spoken to her or the family since the decision was made.
Despite the findings by Kellner and APD, the independent monitor for the Aurora Consent decree found critical issues in the handling of the shooting. In its last report released last October, questions were raised about Aurora police issuing a Denver police warrant, why nonlethal tactics were not used, the lack of cover on approach and keeping Dieck on the job.
MiDian Shofner, who is the CEO of The Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership and The Justice for Kilyn Lewis team, said there are more questions to be answered even after the latest consent decree progress report.
“We want to talk about Kilyn's history, but we're not really talking about Michael Deick's history and some of the problematic things that are in his past as an officer, as a sworn officer,” Shofner said. “This consent decree is supposed to be designed to offer more transparency, offer more accountability, and offer some reform in areas of concern based on the reason why the consent decree came down from the attorney general's office. But I'm not seeing responses to these questions. I'm not seeing any type of execution or enforcement of this consent decree.”
Pressing the city
In the search for answers, Jones, her family, and supporters have pressed the City of Aurora for justice for Lewis. This has led to protests in Aurora and Denver, including at Aurora City Council meetings.
While not violent, the confrontations have been so contentious that the Aurora City Council made adjustments to their meeting procedures. For a period, the meetings were held virtually until last month. Public comments are now scheduled before the meeting and not televised.
Jones has attended meetings virtually and in person. Every time she’s present, she feels her voice and others have fallen on the city council’s deaf ears.
“It is not a matter if they're listening to us. We know for a fact they're not. It is going in one ear and out the other. You can say you're listening. But your actions show otherwise,” Jones said.
She said she feels like the council is trying to shut her up.
“It's not going to work. They're trying to silence all of us, the community, and it will not uphold. We will not stand for this. And so, they're going to be held accountable.”
Community tension remains
Lewis’ death adds more fuel to the hot issue of officer-involved deaths in Aurora’s Black community where many believe that justice is rarely served.
“If you look back at the history of policing, this is not something that is isolated. This is very systemic. It's very intentional,” Shofner said.
In 2019, Elijah McClain was killed during a confrontation with officers while walking home from the convenience store. Two officers used the carotid hold on the 23-year-old Black therapist. McClain died after receiving a lethal injection of ketamine.
Two of the three officers including the officer who initially contacted McClain were acquitted. Two paramedics were convicted on lesser charges. The supervising paramedic was initially sentenced and sent to prison. But, the judge later vacated the sentence for four years probation. The other paramedic is appealing his conviction and has yet to serve any time.
Kory Dillard was shot and killed by officers in a neighborhood west of South Peoria Street and East Colfax. It was reported that the late Army Veteran was a carjacking suspect in the area.
As officers attempted to arrest Dillard, he pointed a weapon that looked like an assault-style rifle at them. It was later determined that it was an airsoft rifle. His girlfriend and mother of his children said Dillard was going through a mental crisis at the time.
Public discussions have been held with Chief Chamberlain since he was sworn into office last September. The use of force has been brought up and responded with statistics. Shofner, who hosted a smaller discussion last October, believes the reports are unnecessary to show to the Black community.
“Those use of force reports can be informational for people that may have different lived experiences, but you don't have to tell us that the numbers are going to be at any level than what they are because we are living it,” Shofner said.
Use of force
According to the Aurora Police Department’s Transparency Portal, there were 648 incidents where officers used force. Thirty-three percent of those incidents were used on the Black community – the most of any ethnic group. When it comes to Level 3 incidents, which categorizes lethal force, the Black community experienced it the most at 66 percent.
Even though the decisions from local government have not gone their way, Jones, Shofner and others continue to seek justice for Lewis and others who were in similar incidents with the Aurora Police Department.
At the beginning of the year, Jones and others gathered at the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Centennial to bring attention to the issue to newly elected District Attorney Amy Padden. She hopes that Padden reopens Lewis’ case.
“As you were in sworn oath, at least uphold that oath and protect our people. Bring justice back where justice needs to be,” Jones said. “Bring the justice back here and allow the people to speak and tell their truth. We need justice because we as a people of all colors and backgrounds, will not stop until we get justice for our people, for our loved ones.”
- Aurora Police Department says officer who shot Kilyn Lewis didn’t violate agency policy
- Latest consent decree report raises questions on Aurora police shooting of Kilyn Lewis
- DA will not file charges against Aurora Police officer for shooting and killing an unarmed man
- 100 days after his fatal shooting by Aurora police, family of Kilyn Lewis march to demand answers
- Body-worn camera footage shows Kilyn Lewis was unarmed when Aurora officer fatally shot him
