Aurora police have released body camera footage of an unarmed man shot and killed by an officer in Colorado

The family of an unarmed man shot by an Aurora SWAT officer is demanding justice. The Aurora Police Department released body camera footage of the fatal shooting Thursday morning.

Aurora police produced a critical incident report video that includes body-worn camera footage redacted by APD and narration by Interim Police Chief Heather Morris.

“We take the use of force seriously, especially when it involves fatalities,” Morris said in the video.

The APD SWAT team assisted the Denver Police Department’s Fugitive Unit in supervising 37-year-old Kilyn Lewis. He was wanted on an active arrest warrant in Denver for attempted first-degree murder.

An arrest warrant was issued on May 5 when police said Lewis was involved in a shooting near East 48th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

Police say Lewis visited an apartment complex in the 300 block of South Ironton Street. The teams observed for two days. Due to the “high risk nature” of the warrant, APD’s SWAT team was requested to assist in the arrest.

Just before noon on May 23, officers saw Lewis park his vehicle and open the trunk. Body camera footage shows he was in the back of the vehicle when officers approached him.

Police ordered Lewis to the ground. At this time, his hands were visible and empty. Lewis then took a few steps and put his right hand behind his back, out of sight. When his hand came back into view, Lewis was holding an object. APD Officer Michael Dieck fired a single shot.

As it later turned out, the object was a mobile phone.

After being shot, Lewis can be seen on the ground saying, “I have nothing. I have nothing”.

Two days later, Lewis was pronounced dead.

“He had his hands up, phone in hand. All officers can see that he is holding the phone in his hand. And Officer Dieck decides it’s the right time to shoot,” said Edward Hopkins, the family’s attorney. “The Aurora Police Department owes the family an explanation for why it failed to do its job on May 23, 2024. And I’m not talking about explaining why they killed Kilyn Lewis. We all know it was wrong. They owe us an explanation as to why they did not arrest Officer Dieck on the spot.”

Lawyers from the Rathod Mohamedbhai law firm representing Lewis say it is the murder of an unarmed man who was surrendering. They joined the Lewis family at a news conference Thursday morning.

“If a civilian with less weapons training, less body armor, and less tactical police experience than Officer Dieck had shot and killed Mr. Lewis on May 23 under the exact same circumstances, that civilian would undoubtedly have been arrested and charged with murder.”

Kilyn’s family is demanding that District Attorney John Kellner investigate Dieck and ask a grand jury to charge him with murder or manslaughter.

“Why did he do it? I want to know the answer to this question. Why did you shoot him, Officer Dieck? Haven’t you seen the other officers? Didn’t you see what they saw? Why were you the only one to shoot?” – asked Anndrec Lewis, Kilyn’s wife.

The family is also demanding that APD release an unedited copy of the body camera footage.

“They followed him for two days. They were watching him. They saw that he was unarmed. They saw he posed no threat and shot him anyway,” another lawyer said. “It’s unfair to just look at the snapshot and say it happened quickly because it didn’t happen quickly. They had many opportunities and murdered an unarmed man when he surrendered.”

Morris says he will ensure a full and thorough investigation is conducted and will share the findings with the community.

In a video of the response to the incident, Morris addressed the men and women of the department, saying, “I want you to know that I am proud of each of you for showing up every day to serve our community. I realize that you often have to make critical decisions with limited information and that you are willing to risk so much to keep our community safe. We have faced many challenges together and will always hold ourselves to high standards because that’s what our community expects and deserves.

Dieck is a 12-year veteran of the department and has been assigned to the SWAT team for more than eight years. He remains on paid administrative leave.

An independent investigation by the 18th Judicial Circuit’s Critical Incident Response Team is ongoing to determine whether the officer’s actions were consistent with state law. The administrative investigation is being conducted by the Aurora Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Investigations.

APD will release additional findings once the investigation is complete.