Aurora City Council will address several closely-watched topics in Monday’s council meeting and study session, including the approval of a new police chief, a navigation campus for homelessness, domestic violence cases, and cleanup of shopping carts and cars around the city.

Councilmembers are scheduled to vote whether to approve Todd Chamberlain as the city’s new Chief of Police, whose selection has received pushback from community members due to the lack of public input involved in his hiring.

Aurora Police Department has faced a lot of backlash over the last five years for internal issues with leadership, as the city has gone through six police chiefs in the last five years.

It has also seen some issues with uses of excessive police force, and in 2021, it entered into a consent decree with Colorado Attorney General’s Office to implement sweeping changes to policing, notably in the use of force and how officers engage with residents.

The process was prompted by the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who died after an encounter with officers and paramedics in 2019 as he walked home from a convenience store.

Recent allegations have surfaced of racism and biased policing in light of the shooting death of Kilyn Lewis, who court records show had a violent criminal history and was being arrested on a warrant alleging attempted murder.

The Aurora City Manager selected Chamberlain for the position without consulting the community in the process, leading some to question the city’s decision.

“I do hope that I can bring the stability that this department needs,” Chamberlain said during the Thursday press conference.

Day one did not go well, according to State Sen. Rhonda Fields.

“The first call I got about the news was from the press. ‘Did you know?’ That hurts because me and so many other people are out here trying to restore trust,” Fields said in an interview with 9NEWS.

Chamberlain was chosen as chief without any input from the public. In 2022, the department faced criticism for announcing three white men as finalists to lead the department in Colorado’s most diverse city. This time around, there were no community meetings, forums or conversations with the community leaders who have been asking for transparency for years.

“Their process is like a gut punch to our community,” Fields said. “They have just dismissed communities of color, crime victims. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the process.”

In the news conference, Chamberlain acknowledged the lack of transparency and community input in his hiring. He said the selection process has not worked in the past and the department had to change how it hires its chief.

“It’s almost as if there was this weaponization after the Black Lives Matter movement that turned into some type of retaliation,” Candice Bailey said. “To say, ‘if you want to defund us and you want to question what we do, we will completely cut you off’.”

Bailey is an activist who led protests against police brutality after the death of McClain and again this year following the death of Lewis. She has been involved in the selection committees of past Aurora police chiefs.

“It is more than disheartening,” Bailey said. “It is alarming. Once again, we are seeing that commitment to transparency by the city of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department be completely thrown away.”

If she had been able to ask Chamberlain questions before he was chosen, Bailey said she likely would’ve asked him about his time at the Los Angeles Police Department. As a captain there, Chamberlain was named in a lawsuit alleging he failed to discipline or report an officer who was accused of racist behavior against a black officer. A jury awarded the officer who alleged he was subjected to racial harassment $1.2 million. Denver Gazette news partner 9NEWS asked Chamberlain about it Thursday.

“Someone in a lawsuit can write whatever on court paper,” Chamberlain said. “All they have to do is say it, they don’t have to ever prove it. I was never involved in that. I was never involved in the lawsuit. I was the one that identified the issue. I was the one that brought it to attention.”

Residents have until Monday night to research and provide public input on Chamberlain before the vote.

Councilmembers will also vote on Aurora’s upcoming navigation campus — a 13-acre homeless shelter that offers housing services at levels that depend on how much individuals are willing to work.

Monday’s resolution directs the city manager to ensure that the navigation campus is focused on “reducing homelessness through employment” and that treatment strategies help individuals “improve self sufficiency and maintain stable housing.”

The recommendations in this resolution fall in line with Aurora’s “tough love” approach to homelessness, which measures success by employment and self-sufficiency, rather than how many people are taken off the streets.

During the study session, councilmembers will continue to discuss a plan for transitioning domestic violence cases out of municipal courts and into county courts.

At the previous study session, they decided to delay voting and further study the topic, following disagreements between several councilmembers over the effects of the transition on victims and county courts.

Many of the councilmembers noted that they would be more in favor of the transition if there is a concrete start date so that county courts will have time to financially prepare for the influx of domestic violence cases.

Also during the study session, the council is scheduled to vote on a program for the retrieval of abandoned or unlawfully removed shopping carts from retailers.

They will also vote on an ordinance for the mandatory impoundment of vehicles — Councilmember Stephanie Hancock is the sponsor of both agenda items.

“I’m working with our law enforcement to design a policy to incentivize vehicle owners to be in compliance with the current laws for public safety and wellbeing,” said Hancock in an email update for her Ward.

The study session will be held at 5:15 p.m. Monday in the Aurora Room of the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy.

The council’s regular meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Paul Tauer Aurora City Council Chamber, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway.

Both meetings will also be live streamed at auroraTV.org and Youtube.com/TheAuroraChannel. They will also stream live on cable channels 8 and 880 in Aurora.

Those who want to speak during “Public Invited to Be Heard” must submit a speaker slip by 6:30 p.m. Monday, the day of the meeting. Anyone who wants to comment on an agenda item must submit a speaker slip before the city clerk reads the title of the item.

9NEWS contributed to this report.