A small but vocal group of Aurorans decided to make political hay Monday out of the firing last week of Police Chief Vanessa Wilson. They staged a media event on the steps of Aurora City Hall, served up quotables and decried the chief’s ouster as a vendetta.

They said little, of course, about a recent audit of police records that uncovered a huge backlog of pending crime reports. Or about exit interviews – obtained through a public-records request by Denver’s Fox31 – of departing Aurora cops that revealed Wilson’s unpopularity among the police rank-and-file. Neither development reflected well on the now-former chief.

Here’s what really matters, though: The Aurora City Council’s new majority was elected in part on a promise to restore public safety. Aurorans, like their neighbors in the rest of the metro area, have been inundated by a massive crime wave. And they want relief.

The council as well as its city manager, who handed Wilson her pink slip, clearly believe that shaking up the city’s cop shop at the top was needed for a fresh start in the crime fight. That’s their prerogative and, arguably, was part of the mandate from voters last November.

The council is trying to deliver on its promise to fight crime. It’s time to unite behind that effort and restore law and order.

Denver Gazette editorial board