Elijah McClain's death initiated changes within Aurora Police Department

It was the death of Elijah McClain, after being stopped by police, that primarily led the city of Aurora to enter into a five-year-long consent decree. There are 68 mandates to be met.

The decree mandates areas such as racial bias in policing, use of force and documentation of stops be addressed. 

Independent Monitor Jeff Schlanger oversees compliance. He told CBS News Colorado, "I think the City of Aurora is doing generally well. I think we have to keep in mind, this is not a sprint, but a marathon."

His office has issued four reports. The most recent found the City of Aurora is cooperating fully, it is striding towards the implementation of reforms, updated biased base policing policies and now is meeting deadlines. 

But department critics like community activist Candice Bailey say the problem is with city leaders, "Knowing what they are doing makes zero impact on the lives of those who have been tragically damaged by unconstitutional use of force and brutalities by police."

The fatal shooting of Jor'Dell Richardson took place since that last report. No criminal charges are being filed against the officer who fired his gun at the suspected teen robber. 

The Office of the Independent Monitor will wait until the Aurora Police Department's internal investigation is complete before it examines the case. 

"We will be looking at every use of force to make sure it complies with policy," said Schlanger. 

One stumbling block for Aurora is conducting training against racial bias. The city had a presentation from one vendor and decided no, let's go back to the drawing board. 

The next report by the independent monitor is due out in the middle of October.