The Aurora Police Department plans to be part of the city’s wreath-laying ceremony on Sunday afternoon to mark the seventh anniversary of the day a disgruntled Henry Pratt employee shot and killed five co-workers and injured five responding police officers in Aurora. Those who died on Feb. 15, 201 9 – Clayton Parks, Trevor Wehner, Russell Beyer, Vicente Juarez and Josh Pinkard – will forever be tied to the legacy of this department, which will remember their names as a permanent reminder of both tragedy and the duty to serve. While the community grieved, it also rallied around the APD. And for the next year its law enforcement members were hailed as heroes for their efforts that prevented a horrible situation from becoming even worse. They certainly deserved those accolades as this shooting impacted the department in ways that will stay with most of them for the rest of their lives. When Valentine’s Day rolls around each year, retired Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross, who was deputy chief in 2019, says his thoughts are not on chocolate and roses but on memories of that day that continue to haunt him. “There are really no words to describe it,” he said, recalling “a sense of confusion” waiting outside Lutheran General Hospital as one of his seriously wounded officers was being treated, also knowing another was struggling for life at Mercy Medical Center. “I’ve been in many situations throughout my career, but never felt what I felt that night,” Cross continued. “It was a heavy, heavy weight.” What helped the department through this trauma was the outpouring from the community – indeed, from the country and beyond – which wrapped supportive and grateful arms around the APD. Then came the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis. Just like that, those same badges celebrated a year earlier were being scrutinized under the harsh glare of a national outcry over policing. Protests that broke out across the nation spilled into downtown Aurora, where buildings were vandalized and tear gas filled the air as the APD worked to disperse crowds. Though authorities were attempting to restore order, the images and headlines deepened public scrutiny and mistrust. And police officers, even those who had been wounded in the Pratt shooting, were now facing vitriol from the same people who had lauded them a year earlier for their sacrifice and service. While tensions eased with time, residual remained, emerging again amid national protests over ICE raids. On Feb. 9, around 1,500 students, mostly from East Aurora High School, walked out of class in protest of the federal immigration enforcement operations. According to an official statement from police, as the APD tried to manage the situation, some students moved into active traffic, blocked vehicles and ignored officers’ directions, which an official statement said “created public safety concerns.” Those included water bottles thrown at police, fights breaking out among students and reckless driving going on too close to the crowd, police said. When police intervened, multiple arrests were made, including a student who allegedly punched an officer, which required staples in the officer’s head to treat, according to police. What followed were online videos of an officer tackling a student, and many rushes to judgement, including from those criticizing cops for excessive force and demanding accountability. And so, as the city draws together to remember the victims of the Pratt tragedy and the heroism of the cops who responded to it, the APD once more is under the glare of a negative spotlight. “It is discouraging and impacts morale,” admitted Aurora Police Sgt. Marco Gomez, whose “children were minutes away from losing their father” after a bullet from the Pratt gunman severed the femoral artery in his right leg. At the same time, both Gomez and Cross understand that, whether the APD is considered the good guys or the bad, scrutiny comes with the job. Law enforcement should not be immune to criticism or accountability, the former chief noted. But fairness matters. And in an era of viral video and instantaneous judgement, the court of public opinion often convenes long before all the evidence is in. Plus, shifts in attitude toward police are not always about single acts but about the weight of national controversies placed on their shoulders, Cross pointed out. “When officers are put in difficult situations, people often don’t understand the process or procedures,” he said. “The public sees a 10-second clip of a person getting tackled, and when all the information is not allowed to be released” they immediately form opinions. “It can be frustrating at times,” Cross admitted. “But we try to quiet the noise and keep the focus on where it needs to be: keeping a community safe,” even if it means running into a building while facing the bullets of a desperate gunman. Feb. 15, 2019, was “the saddest day in the city’s history and the next day was the best because people came together. There were no politics in Aurora Strong,” said Gomez, referring to the mantra that united the community in its grief and pride. Both he and Cross believe that, because the pendulum of public opinion rarely rests, the critical spotlight now on the APD will again dim. “After ’20-’21 we did not think we’d come out of it, but we did,” said Gomez, saying Aurora’s department is considered one of the most respected and highly trained departments in the country. “We will be there for the community, whether we have their support or not,” he continued. “We can’t pick and choose what person we help. We are willing to help anyone in the community, including those throwing rocks at us.” That being said, neither Gomez nor Cross want the current controversy to overshadow what is really important on this seventh anniversary of the Pratt mass shooting. “I don’t want all this chaos to take away from those who were lost or their families,” said Gomez. “This week should be about them.” [email protected] ...read more read less