The majority of Aurora councilmembers strongly support the Aurora Police Department and its new chief, Todd Chamberlain, but few voices stand out on this issue as much as Stephanie Hancock's.
"I don't agree that racism is a big issue in the Aurora Police Department," says Hancock, who represents Aurora's Fourth Ward. "I don't look at everything from the perspective of race. I look at how people comport themselves and how they behave in the public...It can't be an 'us versus them' mindset."
Aurora, one of Colorado's most diverse cities, has a complex political sphere. Aurora Councilman Amsalu Kassaw often surprises members of the public and media as an African immigrant who works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Hancock says she surprises people "all the time" as a Black woman supporting Trump and law enforcement, she says.
"In general, people make assumptions, but I think people have known long enough to know where I come from on this issue," she says. "I think there are more people like me than not."
Hancock's support for APD upset protesters demanding a stronger response from the Aurora City Council to the death of Kilyn Lewis, who was shot while holding a cell phone in early 2023 by an Aurora Police SWAT officer. Activists have since formed the Justice for Kilyn group to demand that the council fire the officer who fatally shot Lewis and take a more apologetic approach.
"The development of the whole Kilyn Lewis situation: while it's tragic, it's not something I expected. But it's something that happens in a city the size of Aurora," Hancock says. "People get shot. Many folks get hurt."
Hancock has been in office for a year and a half, representing a part of west Aurora that is full of neighborhoods, schools and small businesses, including the Havana Street corridor. She serves on the public safety committee and campaigned in 2023 on "dealing with street racing and auto theft and break ins and general public safety."
The Republican councilwoman describes herself as a traditionalist. Her right-leaning politics are guided largely by a lifetime as "a faithful follower of Christ," she says. The Air Force Veteran has been a resident of Aurora for 35 years, and is a steadfast supporter of local law enforcement. However, Aurora police have been the subject of several controversies over the years.
Since the death of Elijah McClain in 2019, APD has undergone state-mandated training and hiring and held gatherings with the public to comply with a consent decree created by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in 2021 to handle the fallout of the high-profile incident. The latest progress report on the consent decree was released in late May, and it gave APD positive marks.
But APD has been riddled with controversies before and after the consent decree. In October 2019, an APD officer was undisciplined after being dragged out of his car drunk and unconscious while on duty, which made national news. In 2020, Vanessa Wilson took over as the APD chief, and two years later, the city fired her that year for incompetence; Wilson is now suing the city for allegedly ousting her for trying to reform the department.
In 2023, an APD officer shot and killed Jor'Dell Richardson, a Black fourteen-year-old, after he robbed a vape store; Justice for Kilyn has also decried the incident, as the officer never faced disciplinary actions.
Before Chamberlain was appointed, the city went through five chiefs in two years. However, Hancock believes Aurora police are now headed in the right direction.
In 2023, an APD officer shot and killed Jor'Dell Richardson, a Black fourteen-year-old, after he robbed a vape store; Justice for Kilyn has also decried the incident, as the officer never faced disciplinary actions.
Before Chamberlain was appointed, the city went through five chiefs in two years. However, Hancock believes Aurora police are now headed in the right direction.
Hancock on Aurora Police, Protesters
Hancock is "very optimistic" about APD under the leadership of Chamberlain, who was appointed to Chief in August 2024 after working for the LAPD. Although she admits the department isn't perfect, she's quick and adamant about defending them, and is upset with the scrutiny the public puts on police.
"They're just people," Hancock says. "You've got to remember that APD cops are just people. They make mistakes, and for us as a public to put them on this superhero, never-do-anything-wrong status is unfair."
"They're just people," Hancock says. "You've got to remember that APD cops are just people. They make mistakes, and for us as a public to put them on this superhero, never-do-anything-wrong status is unfair."
Justice for Kilyn has called out Hancock several times, saying she supports law enforcement more than Lewis and her own Black community, with Lewis's dad saying that she "betrayed her own people."
Hancock, who called the group "bullies, terrorists, anarchists" during a July 2024 meeting, says she's made efforts to talk with Lewis's family and says that Justice for Kilyn supporters have devolved into "grandstanding."
"We have done everything that is humanly possible to express to the Lewis family that this is a tragic situation," Hancock says. "Despite what others have reported, I personally spoke with [Lewis's mother]...for her to say that I was not compassionate was not fair, but I'm not going to get into that back and forth."
Although Hancock feels the council has done enough to express their sorrows for Lewis's family, that doesn't accomplish much for the rest of Aurora's Black residents, according to protesters who have shouted their grievances at council meetings since 2024.
Justice for Kilyn is led by local Black activists Auon'tai Anderson and MiDian Holmes. After a year of demonstrations in the Aurora council chambers that halted several meetings, the council now meets virtually without public comment, a move protesters and Aurora citizens have criticized.
Hancock, who called the group "bullies, terrorists, anarchists" during a July 2024 meeting, says she's made efforts to talk with Lewis's family and says that Justice for Kilyn supporters have devolved into "grandstanding."
"We have done everything that is humanly possible to express to the Lewis family that this is a tragic situation," Hancock says. "Despite what others have reported, I personally spoke with [Lewis's mother]...for her to say that I was not compassionate was not fair, but I'm not going to get into that back and forth."
Although Hancock feels the council has done enough to express their sorrows for Lewis's family, that doesn't accomplish much for the rest of Aurora's Black residents, according to protesters who have shouted their grievances at council meetings since 2024.
Justice for Kilyn is led by local Black activists Auon'tai Anderson and MiDian Holmes. After a year of demonstrations in the Aurora council chambers that halted several meetings, the council now meets virtually without public comment, a move protesters and Aurora citizens have criticized.
"This council had the opportunity to lead with courage," Justice for Kilyn members said in a June statement. "Instead, when faced with the demand for transparency, they chose the comfort of a screen over the challenge of the people. When backed into a corner by the weight of justice, they cower — not behind law — but behind a virtual wall, hoping that silence will erase accountability."
Hancock says the protests and lawsuits are shortsighted and politically motivated.
"It's a tactic to try to redirect that energy and make certain councilmembers targets," she says about the group's demonstrations. "It doesn't help whatever cause they're trying to promote. It's just disruptive."
Debate Around Hancock's Son
Hancock has been forced to deal with local police and the court system in her personal life, as well. In 2018, her son, Michael, shot and killed a man. He was found not guilty of any crime a year later, but not before sitting in a Denver County jail for sixteen months while being investigated for first-degree murder.
Michael's defense argued that he had killed 45-year-old Hyun Soo Kim in self defense. Kim was Michael's Uber passenger, and after he drunkenly put in the wrong address, Kim refused Michael's request to use the app to start a new ride to get him to the right place. The argument escalated when Kim hit Michael and pulled his dreads as he tried to exit the car. Michael fired a handgun at Kim ten times. A jury found Michael not guilty in late 2019.
"What I can say from my experience is that there is a culture of fear that has been perpetuated among brown and Black people with regards to the relationship with police," Hancock says. "It doesn't help that some interactions with police and people of color haven't been pleasant."
Michael's defense argued that he had killed 45-year-old Hyun Soo Kim in self defense. Kim was Michael's Uber passenger, and after he drunkenly put in the wrong address, Kim refused Michael's request to use the app to start a new ride to get him to the right place. The argument escalated when Kim hit Michael and pulled his dreads as he tried to exit the car. Michael fired a handgun at Kim ten times. A jury found Michael not guilty in late 2019.
"What I can say from my experience is that there is a culture of fear that has been perpetuated among brown and Black people with regards to the relationship with police," Hancock says. "It doesn't help that some interactions with police and people of color haven't been pleasant."
"There was no marching, there was no name-calling, they didn't make this into a race issue," Jurinsky said. "She didn't say, 'my son is sitting in jail right now because he's Black. The system is against my son because he's Black.' That's not what happened."
The podcast's host, Denver activist Jeff Fard, argued that investigators and prosecutors didn't dismiss Michael's actions as self-defense because of his skin color.
"Even if she didn't say it, the facts are that it is true. That happened to him because he was Black," Fard said."My point is this: the statistics say it happened to him because he was Black."
Hancock and her husband were in the show's audience during the exchange. Fard's comment triggered a muffled note of disagreement from her. As the show's conversation about her son went on, Hancock only shook her head and sat up in her chair as she itched for a chance to chime in.
"The case is seven years old. For people to keep bringing it up, I just find it really annoying," Hancock tells Westword, reflecting on how she was feeling at the debate. "He was not arrested because he was Black. He was arrested because of the circumstances, the charges that were filed against him."
Hancock disagrees with Fard's point, saying, "I would defy him to prove" that her son was investigated because he's Black. In the end, Hancock says, she just isn't sold on the idea that racism needs to be a focus when talking about problems in Aurora or in America. Although she's experienced racism first-hand, it's not something she wants to focus on as an elected leader.
"I've been Black all my life, and I've dealt with racism in my face," she says. "I believe that if my character, my values, who I am as a person, if I do what I say, that means more than the color of my skin. I can't let this be a hindrance to me. I don't think we do ourselves a favor when we rely on race as the first thing we go to."
