Aurora, CO – On Friday, October 3, the family of Kory Dillard and representatives of Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC) met with the 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason. The day marked one year since the death of Dillard at the hands of Kevin Rodier and Ryan Shamblin of the Aurora Police Department, and the group specifically sought to know if the district attorney had any plans to prosecute them criminally.
The meeting was hard won and the DA only agreed to meet after a phone blast, a fax-in, and daily calls to the DA’s office by members of DACAC. The meeting was accompanied by a rally and press conference outside the office.
With every police killing in his district since he was elected, DA Mason has chosen to let the cops go free. This was met by outrage at the rally outside the office.
“To see the injustice continue by the hands of Brian Mason is not something that the youth of this city want. This is not something that the people of this city want,” said Khalid Hamu of Students for a Democratic Society, “How are we supposed to feel safe if the police can pull up in seven seconds and kill us? That’s a shame.”
The district attorney repeatedly reaffirmed that he was operating “under the law,” and that he had to only consider the perspective of the police officers. If they felt “scared for their lives,” under Colorado law, they are allowed to kill civilians. District Attorney Brian Mason made his stance clear, and, yet, others who have seen the same footage as Mason disagree.
“There’s too many discrepancies in the case itself, in the press brief, and in Brian Mason’s piss-poor excuse of a justification for Kory’s murder. Those officers broke several directives and laws before they even exited their vehicle,” said Anna Harris, member of DACAC and Dillard’s life partner.
Harris made it clear that, though Mason’s decision is apparently final, their fight for justice is just beginning, saying, “He said take it up with the APD. That’s fine. We will take it up with the APD. Then we’re going to take it up with your higher-ups. We’re going to make sure that your next campaign makes it so nobody wants to be affiliated with your vote, because you’re on our list. Shamblin’s on our list. Rodier’s on our list. And we will not stop.”
#AuroraCO #CO #InJusticeSystem #KillerCops #PoliceCrimes #DACAC
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