Aurora, CO – Authorities have opted not to prosecute an Aurora police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man in May, sparking community outcry and intensifying scrutiny of the police department already under reform mandates.
The officer, identified as Michael Dieck, a member of the Aurora Police Department’s SWAT team, was involved in the shooting of 37-year-old Kilyn Lewis. Lewis was wanted on an attempted murder charge at the time and was being tracked by police as part of a cooperative effort with the Denver Police Department.
During the encounter, captured on body-worn cameras, officers were recorded shouting orders at Lewis to get on the ground. Video footage revealed Lewis reaching into a rear pocket and retrieving a dark-colored object, which he then held above his head. The object, later identified as a cell phone combined with a fruit snack, was mistaken for a weapon by Dieck who then discharged his weapon, resulting in Lewis’s death at a nearby hospital.
In a decision letter made public, Arapahoe County District Attorney John Kellner stated he found insufficient evidence to establish that Officer Dieck had committed a criminal act. The case was initially considered by the county grand jury, which declined to proceed, leaving Kellner to make the final call on the prosecution. Kellner explained that the decision was influenced by officers’ testimonies, which portrayed Lewis’s actions as indicative of someone drawing a weapon.
Kellner elaborated on the justifications for the shooting in his letter, citing that Dieck’s perception of the threat was shaped by his knowledge of the violent crime Lewis was suspected of and the manner in which Lewis conducted himself during the police confrontation. According to Kellner, such context contributed to Dieck’s “objectively reasonable belief” that he was facing an imminent threat.
The incident, which occurred amid ongoing police reforms following a state investigation that highlighted racial biases within the Aurora Police Department, provoked local protests and calls for justice. Community members and activists, particularly those from the Black community, were vocal in their demands for accountability, aligning this incident with broader national concerns over police treatment of Black individuals.
The shooting, and subsequent decision not to charge Dieck, has resurfaced tensions in Aurora, a city already grappling with the aftermath of the police-related death of Elijah McClain in 2019. McClain’s case, which also involved accusations of excessive force, led to the conviction of a former officer on charges of criminally negligent homicide the previous year.