Aurora is in “substantial compliance” with nine mandates that the state set out in its consent decree with the city, including the Fire Department’s use of ketamine, according to a report released by the company overseeing the decree.

The city is in varying stages of compliance with the other 27 mandates examined in the report, according to the monitor. 

The monitor currently has concerns about whether the city will meet expectations for nine of the mandates, putting Aurora’s compliance for them on a “cautionary track,” because of what the company characterizes as lack of policy governance and training development in the police department.

Aurora chooses IntegrAssure as independent monitor to oversee consent decree

Aurora agreed to make changes to its public safety agencies after an investigation by the attorney general’s office found patterns of bias and excessive force in policing. The Fire Department also had a pattern of using the sedative ketamine in violation of the law, the investigation found. The Fire Department stopped using ketamine nearly two years ago, but has to comply with related mandates in the consent agreement if it ever resumes use.

The consent decree addresses: 

• Racial bias in policing
• Use of force
• Documenting stops
• Use of ketamine and other sedatives as chemical restraint
• Recruiting, hiring and promotions
• Disciplinary processes and oversight

The consent decree will last at least five years, and Aurora’s compliance is enforceable in court. It contains 70 mandates. IntegrAssure will issue 12 public reports over the next several years, according to a news release.

Consent decree monitor calls Aurora’s cooperation “exemplary”

The monitor will hold a town hall at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at Beck Recreation Center to gather feedback, answer questions and go over the findings of its first report. Aurora will stream the meeting on AuroraTV.org and broadcast it on Comcast channels 8 and 880. The monitor’s website, AuroraMonitor.org, will provide details the day before about how to participate in the town hall remotely.

Community members can submit questions in advance by emailing connect@auroramonitor.org or fill out a “Contact Us” form on the monitor’s website.

The monitor held its first town hall in April.