Peaceful Protest for Kilyn Lewis Disrupted by Aurora PD

A peaceful rally and march for the killing of Kilyn Lewis was forcibly cut short when Aurora PD blocked off the protest route and detained its organizer earlier this month. Lewis had been shot to death by Aurora PD officer Michael Dieck while holding a cell phone and fruit snack in May.

Justice advocate MiDian Shofner had previously been in contact with an Aurora PD officer about coordinating safety measures for the event. Street blockades for the march route were planned and communicated by the department. Despite this, officers at the event employed intimidation tactics and endangered participants with their reckless behavior. The march commenced after a rally at Bicentennial Park, but was not allowed to complete its route. An Aurora PD SUV nearly ran over Shofner, then officers then escalated the intimidation. They continued ratcheting up the tension by blocking off the march’s route and detaining Shofner, according to a statement from Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, of which Shofner is the CEO.

After being detained by police without explanation, Shofner was taken to an isolated parking lot. Another vehicle, described in the report as “eerily reminiscent of a paddy wagon,” later arrived on the scene and the justice advocate was carelessly loaded into the back of the seatless van without being told where she was being taken. Protestors gathered around the Aurora Detention Center, where Shofner had been carted off to without being told why she was going there. Protestors gathered, demanding the release of the community leader, but were met with officers clad in SWAT gear, who further escalated the situation by using facial recognition software to identify and track protestors.

Protestors and Lewis’ family were forced to relive the trauma of losing Lewis, who had been murdered by officers in SWAT gear. The misuse of force displayed by Aurora PD was salt in an already gaping wound, and waves of anger, sadness, and fear were felt throughout the community. “I felt the weight of systemic oppression in every moment of that experience,” Shofner shares in the press release. “From the betrayal of our initial agreement to being taken to an empty parking lot and transported like cargo, it was clear the goal was to silence, not protect.” Other protestors shared similar sentiments and called for the police department to be held accountable for its actions.

This isn’t Aurora PD’s first clash with the Black community, with the infamous 2019 murder of Elijah McClain the first among other injustices to come to mind. A meeting to debrief the matter has been “indefinitely delayed” without explanation by police chief Todd Chamberlain. “We marched for my son, whose life was stolen by a system that dehumanized him. And now, that same system is working to silence those of us who dare to demand justice,” says LaRhonda Jones, Lewis’ mother. 

Aurora PD is already under a consent decree for its habitual use of police brutality, but clearly that has not stopped them from committing these cruel acts of oppression against the Black community. Those who wish to support the movement for Kilyn Lewis, and countless other victims of police brutality, are encouraged to visit Justice for Kilyn or the Epitome’s website.

Photo courtesy of a press release