Aurora City Council voted on Monday night to approve Todd Chamberlain as the new chief of the Aurora Police Department.

The city has gone through six police chiefs in the last five years, including interim department heads. Chamberlain said he hopes he can bring stability to the force.

The Aurora City Manager Jason Batchelor selected Chamberlain for the position without getting input from the community first. Batchelor announced the decision on Wednesday night, and he said he stood by his decision not to seek public input before making a decision.

Aurora’s previous efforts to find a permanent police chief had been messy. Two years ago, it rebooted the search after the public complained about a “lack of diversity” of the finalists, and all but one of them pulled out.

The last three police chiefs assumed the position on an interim basis.

On Monday, the council approved Chamberlain’s appointment, 8-2, with Councilmembers Crystal Murillo and Rueben Medina in opposition.

Councilmember Alison Coombs was not present for the vote.

For over half an hour before the vote, councilmembers listened to complaints from speakers about the lack of public input involved in choosing the police chief, Chamberlain’s career, and worries about the use of force.

During an earlier press conference, Chamberlain said he has seen what can go right — and wrong — in law enforcement.

“I have seen when law enforcement is done properly. More importantly, I’ve had the opportunity to see when it doesn’t go right, when things aren’t done correctly,” he said.

Some of those who testified before the council criticized Chamberlain.

“If he knows what it looks like when things aren’t done correctly, why is he up for the job? Why is he willing to accept a job where the community was not involved in the process?” said MiDian Holmes.

Murillo, the councilmember, also complained that the city “did not have a community process.”

“I am not going to be supporting this candidate, but I’ll do my best to work with my colleagues, with community — I hear your concerns — and see what we can do to hold accountability in Aurora,” Murillo said.

Chamberlain worked in law enforcement for 35 years in Los Angeles, where he served as Police Chief for Los Angeles Police Department and for Los Angeles Unified School District. More recently, he lectured at California State University, Los Angeles, and worked as a public safety consultant for SAS Institute.

Only seven months into his position as the school district police chief, Chamberlain resigned over major budget cuts at his department, according to a report from Los Angeles Daily News.

In 2020, the California school district’s board voted to cut its police department’s budget by $25 million — about 35% of its budget — after students protested for weeks and pressed for officials to “defund” the police, according to a 2020 article from ABC7 News.

Chamberlain resigned the day after the board approved the budget cut.

While some noted that resignation and questioned his commitment to Aurora, the police chief’s defenders asked the public to watch Thursday’s full press conference introducing Chamberlain.

“We’ve had a revolving door of interim police chiefs, and we need stability in this department … You guys want accountability? You guys want better training? This is what he’s about,” said Bergan.

Activists disrupted the meeting after the vote with chants.

Chamberlain earlier said he is here for the “long haul” and asked residents to give him a chance.

“I know that I’m here to commit,” Chamberlain said. “I’m here to say that I’m part of the city of Aurora, I’m part of the Aurora Police Department, and I look forward to what’s going to unfold.”

Chamberlain will be sworn in to the position on Sept. 9.