The city of Aurora has started the search process for an independent monitor to oversee a possible consent decree that’s being negotiated between the city and the state attorney general’s office, Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Monday.

The current negotiations for a consent decree arose from findings by the attorney general’s office in mid-September that the police department has a pattern of violating Aurora residents’ rights. Officers have a history of using excessive force and failing to document stops as required by law, the investigation found, and the monthslong probe also determined the city’s fire department has a pattern of using ketamine in violation of the law.

Colorado’s policing reform law passed last year, known as Senate Bill 217, allows the state Department of Law to investigate the patterns and practices of government agencies and mandate changes if the investigations find the agency has a history of violating people’s civil rights or denying their constitutional protections.

In a statement to The Denver Gazette, city spokesperson Ryan Luby said Aurora intends to fill the role by Dec. 31, and the attorney general’s office will also be involved in the selection process. The city would fund the position, he said.

The consent decree monitor would be a separate role from an independent monitor Aurora has budgeted to hire in 2022 to oversee discipline and other accountability in the police department, and the special decree position would make reports to the court on only the agreement’s progress.

“Aurora city leaders remain committed to systemic reform efforts in public safety and continue to have productive conversations on a possible consent decree with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office,” Luby said.

The office and the city of Aurora have 60 days under the law to negotiate an oversight agreement. If they don’t reach an agreement, the attorney general can pursue court-ordered changes.

“The ultimate goal of any consent decree is to implement meaningful and lasting change that will support the city of Aurora and its residents as it works to improve and build trust in law enforcement,” Weiser said in a statement Monday.

Weiser said when the report was released the structure of the monitor’s office would be included in the consent decree negotiations.

The investigation came amid outcry over the August 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died in police custody amid an encounter that has since led to manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges against five police officers and paramedics involved. They made their first court appearance Monday.

Weiser’s report attributes the failures of Aurora police to “systemic and severe” culture issues. The department’s training does not address its specific needs, it says, and policies provide little detail or practical guidance.

Police actions showed significant racial disparities, especially with respect to Black people, according to the report. The failure to document stops as required by Senate Bill 217 “allows a vast category of police activity, such as investigative stops, to evade scrutiny,” Weiser said when he announced the results of his office’s report.

The investigation found officers took people to the ground without warning or generic commands ordering them to stop resisting even when it appeared they were not. Weiser said at the time the investigation uncovered instances of officers immediately escalating situations when the subject was in “obvious” mental health distress but didn’t pose an imminent threat of harm to themselves or others.

His office used ride-alongs, body-camera footage, force review board meetings and records on use of force to reach the findings in the report.