Aurora police Chief Vanessa Wilson officially out
AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Police Department Chief Vanessa Wilson is officially out after weeks of speculation she would no longer be the chief at the embattled department.
Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly confirmed the decision to “search for new leadership” for the department is effective immediately, and Division Chief Chris Juul will temporarily oversee operations at APD.
Twombly will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. to discuss the decision further that will be streamed on the Denver7+ app.
“It is clear that Chief Wilson has prioritized community involvement. However, the police chief also needs to effectively manage the operations of the department, effectively engage with staff, build morale, and validate employee feedback. To provide the level of public safety that our community deserves, a change in leadership must occur,” said City Manager Jim Twombly.
The city management team will immediately work to name an interim chief in the near future, as well as begin a nationwide search for a permanent chief of police for Aurora.
Wilson’s ouster has been anticipated for two weeks.
On March 23, Denver7 broke that Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, who’s led the department since December 2019, was planning on leaving the department in the coming weeks over concerns regarding her performance leading the department. The following day, Wilson’s attorney Paula Greisen said the chief does not plan to resign or retire, but acknowledged that the city manager did request a meeting to discuss an exit strategy with the chief last week.
And it comes a day after an independent report was released that criticized a backlog of more than 2,500 criminal investigations still awaiting processing by the records department, which a consulting firm hired by the city called a “high-liability matter.”
Among those crimes still awaiting further investigation, according to the report, were allegations involving child sexual abuse, murder and carjacking.
Twombly said in a lengthy statement Tuesday the city was already working to address some of the issues but called the preliminary report’s findings “alarming.”
Several members of city council said they had concerns over Wilson’s leadership, and the mayor pro tem said the report revealed “a very serious problem and there must be accountability.”
This is a developing news story and will be updated.
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