AURORA, Colo. — Inside the Aurora Police Department on Thursday, the new chief introduced himself to a city that knows little about him.
"Aurora is my home now," Todd Chamberlain said to a room full of TV cameras.
Chamberlain will be the sixth chief in five years to lead a department that’s faced allegations of racism and biased policing, has been under the watch of a consent decree and has for a long time said it is working to win back the trust of the community it serves.
"I do hope that I can bring the stability that this department needs," Chamberlain said.
Day one did not go well, according to State Senator Rhonda Fields.
"The first call I got about the news was from the press. "Did you know?' That hurts because me and so many other people are out here trying to restore trust," Fields said in an interview with 9NEWS.
Chamberlain was chosen as chief without any input from the public. In 2022, the department faced criticism for announcing three white men as finalists to lead the department in Colorado’s most diverse city. This time around, there were no community meetings, forums or conversations with the community leaders who have been asking for transparency for years.
"Their process is like a gut punch to our community," Fields said. "They have just dismissed communities of color, crime victims. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the process."
In the news conference, Chamberlain acknowledged the lack of transparency and community input in his hiring. He said the selection process has not worked in the past and the department had to change how it hires its chief.
"It’s almost as if there was this weaponization after the Black Lives Matter movement that turned into some type of retaliation," Candice Bailey said. "To say, 'if you want to defund us and you want to question what we do, we will completely cut you off."'
Bailey is an activist who led protests against police brutality after the death of Elijah McClain and again this year following the death of Kilyn Lewis. She has been involved in the selection committees of past Aurora police chiefs.
"It is more than disheartening," Bailey said. "It is alarming. Once again, we are seeing that commitment to transparency by the city of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department be completely thrown away."
If she had been able to ask Chamberlain questions before he was chosen, Bailey said she likely would’ve asked him about his time at the Los Angeles Police Department. As a captain there, Chamberlain was named in a lawsuit alleging he failed to discipline or report an officer who was accused of racist behavior against a black officer. A jury awarded the officer who alleged he was subjected to racial harassment $1.2 million. 9NEWS asked Chamberlain about it today.
"Someone in a lawsuit can write whatever on court paper," Chamberlain said. "All they have to do is say it, they don’t have to ever prove it. I was never involved in that. I was never involved in the lawsuit. I was the one that identified the issue. I was the one that brought it to attention."
Read the lawsuit below:
The lawsuit mentions Chamberlain several times. At one point, it alleges the plaintiff "believes that the command staff including Chamberlain not only failed to address misconduct but condoned and approved of Foster's (the other officer) conduct."
Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser called for an independent monitor for the police department to be in place when the consent decree expires. He wants a permanent structure for an independent review of the police department.