In Monday night’s Aurora City Council study session, councilmembers moved forward with a resolution stating that the City Council “stands in mourning” with people who have lost loved ones to officer-involved shootings.

The resolution, which initially passed through the Public Safety, Courts and Civil Service Committee without much discussion, will go to an official vote at a future regular meeting.

Several councilmembers voiced opposition to the resolution Monday night, saying it lacks balance by expressing mourning for officer-involved shooting victims but not for the officers involved in those incidents.

The resolution comes forward almost two weeks after an Aurora officer shot and killed a man who stabbed him and his police dog, and after almost two years of protesters attending every City Council meeting to criticize the APD and talk about lives lost to officer-involved shootings in the city.

Notably, family members and supporters of Kilyn Lewis have advocated for charges to be filed against, and for the firing of, the APD officer who shot Lewis.

Lewis, 37, was shot by SWAT Ofc. Michael Dieck on May 23, 2024, while officers were attempting to arrest him on an attempted murder warrant. He was not armed.

Dieck’s use of deadly force was deemed justified by a Critical Incident Response Team, the 18th Judicial District Attorney, and an internal APD investigation.

The resolution states that the APD has “been involved in several officer-involved shootings in recent years” and “some incidents have resulted in lost lives, leaving families with profound loss and grief.”

It then states that the “City Council stands in mourning with those who are grieving the loss of a child, parent, family member or friend.”

The resolution also clarifies that the council cannot publicly comment on ongoing legal cases.

It also comes to study session just over a week after an Aurora police officer shot and killed a man who stabbed the officer and a K-9.

On April 9, officers responded to a call about 23-year-old Amare James Garlington threatening to kill himself and others.

After officers arrived, Garlington allegedly charged at a K-9 officer and police dog, stabbing both of them with a butcher knife. Garlington was shot and killed and the officer and K-9 are expected to recover.

Andrews told The Denver Gazette previously that his resolution “is not about this,” referring to the recent stabbing and shooting.

“This was a very tragic incident in which the individual suffered mental health issues and, unfortunately, the cop was a victim of it,” Andrews said. “The statement is not about that, but about acknowledging past incidents.”

“This is not an anti-police resolution,” Andrews told fellow councilmembers Monday night. “On both sides of the aisle, we want to make sure that everyone knows we empathize with folks who have been involved in shootings.”

Councilmember Francoise Bergan said the resolution lacks balance, saying she would support it with changes to include language about police as well.

“In officer-involved shootings, there is also another side to it as well,” she said. “There are officers and their families who also experience trauma … I think there should be some balance to it.”

Councilmember Stephanie Hancock said her vote to move the resolution out of the public safety committee was “not a vote of support.”

“I don’t support this resolution because it confuses the role of government,” Hancock said. “Frankly, this is not government’s role … the people of Aurora did not elect us to spend our time on symbolic gestures that blur the line between justified force and wrongdoing.”

Mayor Pro Tem Alison Coombs supported the resolution, saying it is not anti-police.

“Nothing in this resolution says we don’t support the police,” Coombs said. “It says we are expressing sympathy with the families and that we’re not going to take positions that would undermine the city’s legal position.”

In Monday night’s public comment session, protest leader MiDian Shofner said the resolution isn’t anti-police, but is pro-community.

“Every time Todd Chamberlain goes to a camera and talks about somebody being killed by the police, the police get empathy,” Shofner said. “This resolution now is balance for the people that he criminalizes, dehumanizes and pretends we are somehow better off without.”