Aurora City Council confirms Todd Chamberlain as city's next police chief

AURORA, Colorado – By a vote of 8 to 2, the Aurora City Council on Monday confirmed Todd Chamberlain as the city’s next police chief.

Those who voted to confirm Chamberlain include Mayor Mike Coffman and Councilmembers Steve Sundberg, Danielle Jurinsky, Françoise Bergan, Dustin Zvonek, Angela Lawson, Curtis Gardner and Stephanie Hancock. Councilmembers Ruben Medina and Crystal Murrillo voted against Chamberlain's confirmation. Councilmember Alison Coombs was absent from Monday's meeting.

Chamberlain is a former commander of the Los Angeles Police Department and has spent the past four years as a senior public safety consultant with the Justice Public Safety (JPS) division of data analytics firm SAS Institute.

“I can't wait to bring the skills I've learned in over 35 years of police work to the city of Aurora, and I have this great desire to bring them there,” Chamberlain said during his introductory press conference.

The Aurora PD is a revolving door for police chiefs. Chamberlain will be the fourth person to hold the post since the tumultuous ouster of former police chief Vanessa Wilson in early 2022. He will be sworn in on September 9.

That selection process was fraught with controversy. For the first time in the years-long search for a permanent chief, city officials did not ask the public for their input before bringing Chamberlain in. City Manager Jason Batchelor said it was an effort to quickly find the right candidate.

“The charter states that I appoint and the council confirms. So that's the process we use,” Batchelor said.

Before Monday's vote, several community members expressed outrage at the lack of community participation.

“Not 'no', but 'absolutely not' is how you must vote tonight,” said community activist Auon'tai Anderson. “Do you really think the communities you are supposed to represent will trust your choice without you asking them for feedback?”

“It would frustrate me if anyone thought that a police chief – a position that affects every member of this community – could be selected without community input,” said another community member.

Other community members spoke in favor of filling the position.

“I don't care if the new police chief is pink with purple dots. I don't care if he's from Egypt. The only thing that matters to me is that he's here to bring order to this city,” said one community member.

When the motion to confirm Chamberlain was passed, several people present shouted “Shame on you!” at the city council.