Community members demand Aurora City Council restore in-person meetings and public comment

Medan, a community member, urged the Aurora City Council during public comment to restore in-person meetings and reinstate the public invited-to-be-heard period that the speaker said was suspended last year.

Medan tied the call for reinstatement to the May 2024 killing of Hyland Lewis and alleged the council used the pending civil case as justification for moving to virtual meetings. “In May 2024, Hyland Lewis was murdered by Aurora police,” Medan said. “We showed up meeting after meeting demanding accountability, and instead of courage, we saw cowardice. Instead of transparency, we saw tactics of avoidance.”

Medan described a June 9 council action by name and attributed its motion to council members Francois Bergen and Danielle Jurinski, saying that action “voted to suspend public comment and retreat into virtual meetings using the pending civil matter of Highland Lewis versus the City of Aurora as a shield from public scrutiny.” Medan said that a council member told the public there was no reason to continue showing up and framed the suspension as “silencing dissent.”

Medan characterized the June 9 vote as retaliatory and said it may amount to viewpoint discrimination; the speaker said courts would have to address legal issues. “Tonight's vote won't erase the damage that happened. The courts will have to do that, but it can reveal who among you still believes the people of Aurora deserve to look their government in the eye,” Medan said.

The remarks are part of public comment; the provided transcript does not record a council reply or any staff presentation on reinstating in-person meetings.