AURORA, Colo. — Aurora’s mayor is calling for his city to suspend a law enforcement mutual aid agreement with Denver.
It means Aurora would not respond to Denver’s calls for help during major civil disturbances.
It’s the latest twist in an ongoing legal battle between the two cities, stemming from the 2020 summer protests.
Aurora Mike Coffman will introduce a resolution during Monday night’s Aurora City Council meeting.
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The resolution says Aurora is not to provide law enforcement mutual aid assistance to Denver until the cities come to an understanding about the responsibilities each city has during mutual aid situations.
The 2020 killing of George Floyd sparked nationwide protests, including in Denver.
The civil unrest forced Denver Police to ask for help from surrounding agencies.
Coffman says Aurora answered the call, sending officers to Denver through a mutual aid agreement.
Afterward, protesters began filing lawsuits, accusing police officers of violating their civil rights.
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Coffman says Denver defended its officers, paying millions in legal fees and settlements.
But he says Denver left Aurora officers who were named in the suits as co-defendants high and dry.
“I believe they have a moral, if not a legal, obligation to indemnify our officers,” said Coffman. “Those officers acted under the direction of the Denver Police Department.”
In May, Aurora sued Denver, asking a district court to declare that Denver is legally responsible for the Aurora officers who responded to DPD’s request for mutual aid.
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Aurora may suspend law enforcement mutual aid agreement with Denver
“Aurora has repeatedly asked Denver to confirm that it will indemnify Aurora or otherwise assume responsibility for these claims as required by state law and the parties’ longstanding practice and agreement. Denver has refused, and so Aurora now seeks a declaration establishing that Denver does in fact, have that obligation,” Aurora’s attorneys said in the lawsuit.
Denver mayor Michael Hancock’s office said in a statement Denver is not legally responsible for the Aurora officers.
“Mayor Hancock and Mayor Coffman spoke recently, and while the Mayor respects Mayor Coffman’s position and is appreciative of the long-standing partnership between Denver and Aurora, there is a fundamental disagreement on this issue,” Hancock’s office said. “We believe Aurora is taking an overly broad interpretation of the indemnity provisions in the mutual aid statute. Our legal teams have been in close contact on this question for months and agreed that asking the court – a neutral party – to decide the scope of indemnification was the best approach.”
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Coffman’s resolution says until both cities come to an understanding, Aurora’s city manager “should strongly consider withdrawing from all law enforcement mutual aid agreements in place with the City and County of Denver.”
“What will not continue is the ability for Denver under this mutual aid agreement to call in the Aurora Police Department in the event of a major civil disturbance,” said Coffman.
Coffman wants Denver’s incoming mayor, Mike Johnston, who will be sworn into office on Monday, to agree in writing that Denver will always assume legal responsibility when Aurora officers respond to a mutual aid request.
Denver7 reached out to Johnston’s transition team to get his response to Coffman.
“We are aware that Aurora and Denver had a disagreement and decided that the best path to resolve this question was to ask the court for a decision on the appropriate terms of liability,” Johnston said. “As we await the court’s decision, I look forward to working with Mayor Coffman and the City of Aurora to help ensure a safe and vibrant metro area.”
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Coffman says the suspension or termination of the mutual aid agreement would not impact day-to-day cooperation between Aurora and Denver police.
“[Criminals] don’t quite respect boundaries between our two cities, so they go back and forth, and it’s important that we have a significant level of cooperation to be able to deter crime and apprehend criminals,” Coffman said.
He also said he had a good relationship with Hancock, and said the cities work closely together and agree on a number of other issues.
However, he reiterated that Aurora would not respond to a major civil disturbance in Denver until both sides come to an agreement.
“In terms of another major civil disturbance that’s just not going to happen,” said Coffman. “We’re simply not going to be able to stay in the agreement going forward if, in fact, our officers are not going to be indemnified.”
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Cleveland Cavaliers (26-4, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (16-11, fifth in the Western Conference)
Denver; Friday, 9 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland will attempt to keep its five-game win streak alive when the Cavaliers take on Denver.
The Nuggets are 8-4 on their home court. Denver leads the Western Conference with 20.3 fast break points led by Christian Braun averaging 4.8.
The Cavaliers are 9-3 in road games. Cleveland ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference scoring 50.7 points per game in the paint led by Evan Mobley averaging 12.2.
The 119.8 points per game the Nuggets score are 9.6 more points than the Cavaliers give up (110.2). The Cavaliers average 16.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.2 more made shots on average than the 13.9 per game the Nuggets allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikola Jokic is averaging 30.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 1.7 steals for the Nuggets.
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Mobley is scoring 18.5 points per game and averaging 9.0 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 6-4, averaging 123.2 points, 45.8 rebounds, 33.6 assists, 9.5 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.2 points per game.
Cavaliers: 9-1, averaging 120.7 points, 44.8 rebounds, 29.2 assists, 8.9 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.5 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Aaron Gordon: day to day (calf), DaRon Holmes II: out for season (achilles), Vlatko Cancar: out (knee).
Cavaliers: Emoni Bates: out (knee), Isaac Okoro: out (shoulder), Dean Wade: day to day (knee).
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___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
GEORGETOWN, Colo. — The Colorado State Patrol said the “best option” is to remain in Denver amid winter weather that’s impacting roadways in the mountains.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the agency said westbound Interstate 70 is closed at Georgetown due to unsafe conditions between Georgetown and the Palmer Divide.
There is limited lodging and parking in Clear Creek County, according to CSP. The agency said the “best option is to stay in Denver.” It is unclear when the roadway will reopen.
Eastbound I-70 traffic was held at the Eisenhower Tunnel due to a crash just east of the tunnel, according to CSP. The roadway has since reopened.
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
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If you find yourself in a Christmas chariot this week, perhaps a pair of Broncos will be carrying it.
Denver inside linebacker Alex Singleton and kicker Wil Lutz looked like pros over the weekend at the Colorado Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker.”
The duo made brief appearances in the ballet’s rendition of the Christmas classic on Sunday night at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House downtown.
They carried out a chariot with a ballet dancer inside at the start of the Arabian Dance. Then they stood on the stage and posed for a minute before their appearance was finished.
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It lasted, Singleton told The Denver Post, maybe two minutes.
And it was nerve-wracking.
“Oh yeah,” Singleton said on Tuesday. “I didn’t know what to do. But it was kind of funny, we just stood there.”
The whole thing came about because the Broncos and the Colorado Ballet each have Dr. James Genuario on their medical staff.
That helped clear the path for Singleton, who is on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in September, to participate.
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“That was my first question: Can I do it? And he was like, ‘Yeah, you’ll be fine,’” Singleton said. “I mean, I think the dancer weighed about 80 pounds and the carriage weighed about 10. So I carry more than that every day, which is nice.”
Range of motion is no problem exactly 10 weeks post-operation for Singleton.
“I got to 152 degrees,” he said. “Regular life is normal.”
Performing in a ballet, though, is hardly normal life. Singleton and Lutz had exactly zero advanced prep work for their big debut.
“I think it started at 6:30, we showed up about 6,” Singleton said. “At intermission, before we did it, they showed us how to do it and that was it. We just had to make sure the costumes fit us. … But it was really cool. We got to watch from backstage, meet all the people. It was really cool to see how it all runs and everything.”
Singleton said he was not particularly familiar with “The Nutcracker,” Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet.
“I still don’t know the story,” he said. “We asked a couple of the dancers and they were explaining it to us. So I kind of know that it’s like a dream for the little girl where the Nutcracker comes alive, but that’s about it.”
Singleton, of course, was Denver’s leading tackler the past two years, a captain this fall and was calling Denver’s defense before tearing his ACL in Week 3 at Tampa Bay. The injury happened early in the game, but Singleton played the rest of the game with it before being told the severity of the injury that evening. He had ACL surgery on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles and then returned to spend time around the team and rehabilitate here.
Lutz has been a model of consistency in his second year kicking for the Broncos. Three days before appearing in the show he knocked home a pair of field goals against Los Angeles, including a season-long 55-yarder.
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Lutz is now 29 of 32 for field goals on the season. The only kick of less than 50 yards he’s missed was a game-sealing block by Kansas City in Week 10. Lutz has also made all 38 extra points on the year.
His 90.6% field goal rate is sixth in the NFL among kickers with more than 20 field goal attempts.
On the Colorado Ballet’s social media channels, Singleton gave himself a 7 out of 10 and Lutz an 8 of 10, with the kicker saying he was proud that he didn’t blink once.
In the locker room, at least one teammate was skeptical.
“Oh my god, I had no idea what was going on,” tight end Adam Trautman told The Post. “All they did was pick something up. Now, if they’d have danced or something, that would have been elite. But no chance they can move like that.”
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