Rally in Aurora Demands Justice for Kory Dillard and Victims of Police Violence

AURORA, Colo. — On March 1, family and supporters of Kory Dillard gathered outside the Aurora Municipal Center for a rally calling for accountability regarding police violence. The event, held on an unseasonably warm Saturday, highlighted the ongoing fight for justice concerning Dillard, a respected community member and veteran, who was fatally shot by police.

Dillard’s partner, Anna Harris, has spent the last five months advocating for justice since his death. She addressed the crowd, condemning narratives presented by Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain, who labeled Dillard a ‘rock-wielding carjacker.’ Harris argued video evidence contradicts this claim, suggesting that the police department aims to obscure the circumstances surrounding Dillard’s death. ‘What are these wrongful deaths of Black men,’ Harris asked, ‘but police being the judge, the jury, and the executioner, when the death penalty has been long gone in Colorado?’

The rally also served as a moment of solidarity for other families affected by police-related fatalities, including the Lewis family. Kiawa Lewis stood among the crowd, accompanied by his daughter. His brother, Kilyn Lewis, was an unarmed Black man shot by Officer Michael Dieck while working on his car’s sound system outside his Aurora apartment. ‘It’s been a tiring road,’ Kiawa stated, standing alongside Harris. ‘But the thing is they want to tire us out. But we stand together; we fight together.’

Ryan Stitzel, chair of the Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC), used a megaphone to address District Attorney Amy Padden, emphasizing the lack of accountability for police involved in shootings. ‘These police historically have not been held accountable when they’ve done this,’ Stitzel said. ‘When they killed Kilyn Lewis they were not held accountable. When they killed 14-year-old Jor’Dell Richardson when they pinned him down in an alley and shot him behind a dumpster they were not held accountable…and we’re here to say: you must!’

The crowd responded with chants of ‘Black lives matter!’ and ‘When killer cops are on patrol, how do we stop them? Community control.’ Nels Pine, another DACAC member, also spoke, addressing media portrayals of Dillard and other victims. ‘They write all these horrific lies in the newspaper about Kory Dillard, about Jor’Dell Richardson, where they accuse them of all sorts of crimes. Well, the people accused of those crimes aren’t alive to defend themselves against this slander. That’s the very least we could do, is speak the truth,’ Pine said. He continued, ‘They were murdered in the street by police officers who robbed them of their Sixth Amendment right to a trial by a jury of their peers. These crimes by the APD have got to stop.’

The rally culminated with the DACAC reiterating their demands for accountability from District Attorney Padden, affirming their ongoing commitment to address police violence and advocate for community control over policing.