Aurora restarts search for new police chief after another finalist withdraws

Oct. 4—One of the two finalists for Aurora's next police chief withdrew last week after the three-day interview process that included a meeting with the public, so the city said it is starting the search anew.

In its statement, the city alluded to efforts finding more minority and women candidates.

"I greatly appreciate the time the finalists spent with our community," Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly said in the release. "Over the last week, I listened to a lot of feedback from community members and City Council members who want us to continue the search for a variety of reasons, and I support that."

David Franklin, chief of staff for the Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico and one of the finalists, withdrew after interviews last week, the city said. Another finalist, Scott Booth of Virginia, withdrew his application before the interviews could take place.

The withdrawals left the city with only one candidate, Scott Ebner, a retired lieutenant colonel and deputy superintendent of administration for the New Jersey State Police.

Aurora, whose police force is severely understaffed, faced criticism for its handling of the search from two of its representatives in the General Assembly, who accused the city's leaders of "(ignoring) the voices of the Black community" and "(refusing) to ensure a fair and transparent process for all candidates who applied for the position."

"Good policing is critical to keeping communities safe, but it is built on trust, and we are deeply concerned that the process for determining the current finalists to serve as Aurora's next Police Chief was not based on transparency or trust," Senate Assistant Majority Leader Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, and Sen. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, said in a join statement last month.

The legislators said Black community leaders, including them, were excluded from the search process.

"This process has been unnecessarily rushed and challenging for the public to access, and the decision not to pursue genuine engagement — especially with communities of color — has led to a disappointing lack of diversity among the finalists for the position," they added.

Aurora's search for its next law enforcement leader is occurring amidst staffing shortages in the police department. Aurora Police Agent Matt Longshore earlier told The Denver Gazette that the department has about 50 vacancies, even when the city is currently the highest-paying agency in the state.

Department officials recently went on a recruiting trip to New York, contacted thousands of officers and got 27 applications out of it. Starting pay in New York is $40,000, while Aurora offers $60,000 for people with no experience. Aurora's strategy has been to target departments that don't pay as much and don't offer the outdoor lifestyle Colorado has, Longshore said, who noted that law enforcement is a dangerous career, where officers are required to make split-second decisions.

Months of division and turmoil in the department culminated in the firing of former Chief Vanessa Wilson in April. Acting Chief Daniel Oates, who held the position from 2005 to 2014, was appointed two weeks later.

Amid struggles to recruit and retain officers — and a string of controversies in the past several years — the next chief must also manage a department under a five-year consent decree requiring to address use of force, racially biased policing and documentation reforms.

City officials said they received 21 applications during the two-month period the position was posted. That initial pool "included seven applicants who were women or people of color — 33 % of the applicant pool — two of whom were selected for semi-finalist interviews," according to the release.

"Moving forward, we will be assessing the process and determining next steps as we continue the search," said Twombly, who, under Aurora's city charter is required to hire the chief. The hire must also receive approval from the majority of the Aurora City Council. "People across our community may have differing preferences of who they want to lead the Aurora Police Department, but we will make sure that whoever is chosen will be held to serving every member of our community equitably."

"We all — city management, the City Council and the community — want the best person for the job, who will address crime in Aurora and lead the Aurora Police Department to be racially equitable, bias-free, culturally competent and responsive to all residents," Twombly added.