New Aurora police chief sworn in -- the city's 5th chief in 10 years
The Aurora Police Department has a new leader. Heather Morris took the interim chief of police reins from Art Acevedo when she was sworn in Monday morning.
"I'm not ready for you to leave," Morris said to Acevedo, holding back tears, "but I am ready, I'm 100% ready to lead this department."
So many people came to the swearing-in ceremony, it had to be moved to the city council chambers. That's also where Acevedo was celebrated with a send-off and he, too, had a hard time holding back his emotions.
RELATED: Interim Police Chief Art Acevedo to leave Aurora Police Department
"It's hard to leave because this is a great department," he said. "And it pisses me off when people don't want to recognize the work that they're doing and just want to focus on the failures because for every failure this department's had, it had hundreds of thousands of successes."
One such success the now-former interim chief pointed out is a reported reduction in crime since he joined the force. That's a trend Acevedo's replacement aims to continue.
"Also, we need to work on our retention and our relationships," Morris told CBS News Colorado.
Yet some community leaders aren't convinced that can truly happen with a revolving door of police leadership.
"If you keep getting interim police chiefs, how do you think that makes citizens feel? You're not taking care of them. You're just putting placeholders in the situation," said Jason McBride with the Struggle of Love Foundation.
McBride has closely worked with Aurora police for years to curb youth violence and crime. He said every time the city gets a new police chief, it's like going back to square one.
"I don't think we can afford to keep doing this," he said. "There's been some real contentious things that have happened in Aurora. It just makes things harder for us to trust."
Aurora's mayor, however, says he is a fan of the interim approach. Mayor Mike Coffman said the temporary role is "less destabilizing" than going through a national search for a new police chief.
"It's almost like we're trying them out," said the mayor. "I love the fact that somebody's here on an interim basis and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. It's not a big deal."
But it is a big deal for McBride. He'd rather see someone from Aurora -- or at least Colorado -- take on the challenge of helping his city succeed.
"This is a real opportunity for them to turn that around, listen to the citizens, and start to build what can be an amazing place to live," McBride said.
RELATED: Aurora Interim Police Chief Art Acevedo has new job lined up after announcing resignation
Mayor Coffman did say a national search for a permanent police chief isn't out of the question. That's something he intends to discuss with the city council soon.
