Dozens of residents told the Aurora City Council on Dec. 15 that the city's police department requires independent civilian control and that Chief Todd Chamberlain should be removed.

Multiple speakers from community groups including the Denver Aurora Community Action Committee urged the council to replace internal discipline with a board elected or otherwise controlled by civilians, saying the current appointment process for the chief lacked democratic input. Cassandra Hill, a DACAC member, said the council's prior selection of Chamberlain was an "anti democratic betrayal" and urged immediate resignation or council-ordered removal.

Speakers tied their demands to a pattern of alleged misconduct and racialized outcomes. Several public commenters named people killed in encounters with APD and said the department has not delivered transparency or accountability under the existing consent decree. Miles Thompson of DACAC told the council the group wants full civilian control over hiring, discipline and budgets, saying, "The citizens of Aurora must have a direct say in who is entrusted with power and a gun." Ryan Stitzel argued that Chamberlain's appointment perpetuated a history of community exclusion and racialized policing.

Accusations of specific incidents and legal violations were raised from the podium. One speaker said they had been verbally assaulted by an elected official in 2023; others cited unanswered investigative requests and claimed witnesses had not been contacted during police investigations. A speaker cited Colorado Revised Statute 18-9-111 while alleging harassment surrounding a separate chamber encounter and urged the council to investigate.

Council members did not take formal action on personnel at the meeting; the public comments functioned as demands and requests for the council to use its removal or oversight authorities. Several speakers said that if the council fails to act, they will press for structural change through a Civilian Police Accountability Council with hiring and disciplinary powers.

The public comment period concluded with DACAC representatives reiterating their three nonnegotiable demands: immediate resignation or removal of Chief Chamberlain, an open and democratic selection process for the next chief, and creation of a democratically accountable civilian oversight body. The council did not vote on those requests during the Dec. 15 meeting.