Aurora police waited 3 hours to reach active vandalism

More than three hours passed between the first 911 call and the arrival of the first police unit at an Aurora community garden in August. Dispatch records show the initial call came in shortly before 1 p.m. on August 8. Police were dispatched at 3:48 p.m., and the first listed unit arrived around 4 p.m.

During the wait, Mathew King, who reported the incident, told dispatchers that a man was destroying the garden near East 16th Avenue and Yosemite Street. In one exchange, King asked where the police officers were. The dispatcher replied that they had the call in but did not have an officer available to send yet. King noted that the man was causing thousands of dollars in damage. The dispatcher apologized and stated they would send an officer as soon as one became free.

The city maintains the call was correctly classified as Priority 3. This category covers incidents with low threat to personal safety, such as property crime or disturbances. Aurora Police and Aurora911 agreed with this classification. The department stated that the primary factor for the delay was the high volume of Priority 1 and Priority 2 calls occurring simultaneously. Between 1 and 4 p.m. on that day, the city logged 11 Priority 1 calls and 15 Priority 2 calls. Officers spent an average of 87 minutes and 44 seconds on scene for those higher priority calls.

Aurora Police stated they do not track response times for Priority 3 calls. A city spokesperson explained that these calls often involve non-urgent issues without an immediate threat to public safety. The department argued that tracking these calls like higher priority ones would not provide meaningful data on service quality. However, Mayor Pro Tem Alison Coombs questioned the classification. She stated that she wonders if any crimes in progress should be classified as Priority 3. Coombs said the incident revealed a policy gap regarding how the council classifies active crimes.

The garden incident prompted Coombs to ask the city manager about adding more mobile response teams. The city has moved toward adding a fourth Aurora Mobile Response Team (AMRT). The proposed 2027 budget includes approximately $243,000 for this additional unit. AMRT pairs a licensed mental-health professional with an EMT or paramedic to respond to nonviolent calls. Coombs stated the additional team would expand coverage beyond the current seven-day, non-24-hour schedule.

Coombes believes an additional mobile team could have made a difference in the garden incident. She said the team could have assessed the situation and determined if clinicians could de-escalate the behavior. Aurora Police disagreed, stating that expanded behavioral-health capacity would not have changed the outcome in this specific case. The department noted that clinicians cannot replace law enforcement when safety concerns or escalating behavior are involved. APD acknowledged that police often become the default responder for social and behavioral-health issues, straining the system.

Two months after the incident, much of the physical damage to the garden has been repaired. King showed reporters where the damaged beehives had stood and where the water tank was replaced. Denver Urban Gardens found funds for some replacement equipment. King said the longer-term test will be what happens when someone at the garden needs help again. He compared the situation to a leak, noting that quick action limits damage.

City Council is scheduled to vote on final budget adoption on November 9 and November 23. The funding for the fourth AMRT is part of this proposed budget. Meanwhile, the man arrested in connection with the community garden damage remains in Adams County Jail. He is due back in court on Thursday for a review hearing.