AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Police determined that an officer who fatally shot Kilyn Lewis during an attempted arrest in May did not violate agency policy, the department said Friday.
The 37-year-old was shot and killed shortly before noon May 23 in an area near East Alameda Avenue and South Havana Street, as Aurora Police SWAT and the Denver Police Department's fugitive unit were attempting to take him into custody in connection with an attempted homicide, according to Aurora Police.
Police said that Lewis failed to comply with directions to get on the ground, made "furtive" movements and produced an object from behind his back when Officer Michael Dieck fired one shot. Lewis died two days later at the hospital. It was later determined that the object Lewis had was a cellphone.
The Aurora Police Department’s Internal Investigations Bureau launched an investigation to determine whether the officer’s actions complied with agency policies and training.
The Aurora Police Department’s Force Investigations Unit presented the incident to the Force Review Board, which concluded Dieck was not in violation of agency policy or misconduct, police said.
Aurora Police did not specify why it found Dieck did not violate department policy. 9NEWS has reached out to Aurora Police for clarification.
The 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office said last month that District Attorney John Kellner would not pursue charges against Dieck after a grand jury declined to take the case.
Police said Chief Todd Chamberlain has been reviewing all agency operations, which includes an assessment of SWAT functions, following the shooting.
“As with all department functions, we will ensure that the operations not only align with industry best practices but also with our mission to make the City of Aurora a safe community to live, work and raise a family,” Chamberlain said in a news release Friday. “The review is being done in the spirit of the principles of the consent decree including transparency, continuous improvement and accountability to our residents.”
Edited body camera video released by Aurora Police appears to show Lewis with his hands in the air, holding the cellphone, when Dieck fires a single shot.
Lewis' family and their attorneys questioned the transparency and accused the department of using the short edited video clips and statement to create their own narrative about what happened.
The clips of body camera footage that Aurora Police released appear to show that Lewis was putting up his hands when he was shot. Aurora Police has not released the full body camera footage.
Heather Morris, interim Aurora Police chief when the shooting happened, noted in her statement that Lewis put his right hand behind his back just before the shooting, and when it was visible again, he was holding something. The object was found to be a phone. Many family members who watched the video said they didn't understand why Dieck fired his weapon.
> Content Warning: This video shows a man being shot and could be difficult for some people to watch.
Lewis was wanted in connection with an attempted homicide that occurred May 5 near 48th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Denver, according to Aurora Police.
According to a probable cause statement from Denver Police, Lewis was accused of firing from a red Monte Carlo toward a group of people after an altercation. A man who was not involved reported that he was walking when he heard gunshots and felt pain in his shoulder. He said that he's legally blind and was unable to provide information about who might have fired the shots. He was treated for four wounds to his shoulder and back.