Aurora's new chief of police talks about department's future in Colorado: "I'm here for the long haul"

Aurora's newly named police chief Todd Chamberlain introduced himself to the public in a news conference on Thursday. The city made the announcement just the day before, amid criticism that the position had been filled without input from community leaders. 

Aurora City Manager Jason Batchelor addressed those concerns at the news conference, "After our failed public process last time, the feedback we heard from experts in the field was that there were many qualified candidates that would not take part in a public process because it could place their current job in jeopardy."

He also added, "While the selection process did not include public engagement, Todd is committed to engaging with the community, listening to their concerns, earn their trust and build effective partnerships to make our community safer."

During the news conference, Chamberlain addressed a previous lawsuit that alleged he ignored racist behavior among officers in Los Angeles and how he would ensure that all members of the community are treated fairly.

"I think it's important to address not only the issue, the problem, the racial issues, the discrimination issues, the workplace environment issues, it's only not important to do it for the people that are actually causing the problem but it's important for me at that time to do it for the other 400 officers that I had who saw that going on and realized that no one was taking any concern about it 'so this must just be OK' well, it's not OK," Chamberlain. 

Chamberlain emphasized that he wants to work together with the community and asked for a chance to do that. 

"Again, I am here for the long haul, I am here to make those relationships that are going to last, I am here to build trust," said Chamberlain   

Chamberlain started his law enforcement career in 1984 with the Los Angeles Police Department. He became a commander with the LAPD and retired in 2018. He also served as chief of police for the LA Unified School District.  

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said that Chamberlain has his full support as the next chief of police, "He has an extraordinary 40-year career in law enforcement from a diverse city and is a proven leader who will be dedicated to making our department stronger, and our city safe."

"I am not familiar with Todd Chamberlain and his record. I look forward to meeting him and working with him. I have to acknowledge the sixth Police chief in five years during this critical time for Aurora is a challenge. And the way I believe we need to meet this challenge is to establish an independent monitor, to oversee policing in Aurora, to build community trust, and to further the goals of the consent decree," said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.     

Omar Montgomery, president of the Aurora NAACP, told CBS News Colorado's Gabriela Vidal he has been fielding questions from people who were not prepared to hear that city leaders had already made their pick.

"What just happened? How come we weren't engaged? How come we weren't a part of the process?" Montgomery said. "We hope that there was some strong vetting. We hope that this was a strong selection process, but as far as we're concerned, we're extremely disappointed that the community wasn't involved."

Chamberlain will be the seventh Aurora police chief since 2014. Previously, the position has been held by Dan Oates: 2005-2014, Nick Metz: 2015-2019, Vanessa Wilson: 2020-2022, Dan Oates (interim): 2022, Art Acevedo (interim): 2022-2024, Heather Morris (interim): 2024.

When asked about the turnover of police chiefs in the Aurora Police Department, Weiser said, "There's been a lot of work around the consent decree developing new policies. Now is a critical time to make sure those are implemented to make sure the goals of the decree, which is more transparency, more trust from the community, and better practices are going to become permanent features of Aurora by establishing an independent monitor just like Denver has."

Chamberlain still must be confirmed by the majority of the Aurora City Council on Aug. 26. Once that happens, Chamberlain will be sworn in to his new position on Sept. 9.