Nearly five months after an Aurora police officer fatally shot an unarmed black man outside an apartment complex while trying to serve an arrest warrant, the Independent Executive Order Monitor of consent from the city raised further questions about his death.

Kilyn Lewis was raising his hands in the air when Aurora police SWAT officer Michael Dieck shot the 37-year-old man outside an apartment complex on May 23, according to footage from the body camera. Lewis died from a single gunshot wound two days later.

“I’m just one small voice and one small voice only, but I stand up for my son and he doesn’t deserve to die like this,” Lewis’s father, Robert, said at a rally outside the city’s civic center. ‘Aurora last week.

Lewis was a suspect in an attempted first-degree murder May 5 in Denver, but was unarmed when Dieck shot him.

The Independent Consent Decree Monitor was initially created following the death of Elijah McClain to improve how Aurora officers use force and to reduce racist bias among police. IntegrAssure, a Florida-based company specializing in policing oversight, has been hired as Aurora’s consent decree monitor.

In a report released last week, IntegrAssure raised “several critical questions” that the Aurora Police Department will need to address in its administrative review of the shooting and Lewis’ death.

The Observer asked why Aurora SWAT was involved in the execution of a Denver arrest warrant, why SWAT members did not use or attempt to use less lethal options when attempting to arrest Lewis and why the officer who shot Lewis was restrained by the police department and SWAT. after being involved in previous shootings.

“The tactics employed during the high-risk stop, including the decision to approach the subject without cover and without a less lethal option, warrant further review,” the report states. “…The officer who discharged his weapon is a 12-year veteran of APD with eight years on the SWAT team and has been involved in prior shootings.”

IntegrAssure said Dieck’s involvement in the shootings raises potential questions about the selection criteria for officers assigned to SWAT operations and the Aurora Police Department’s retention policies for SWAT team members.

The report also questioned the extent to which Aurora SWAT confirmed facts related to the warrant before engaging Lewis, given that it was a Denver case, and whether SWAT’s involvement was “necessary and appropriate “.

Body camera footage showed that less lethal options were not used or considered by SWAT against Lewis, Monitor officials said in the report.

“The APD should assess whether the exclusion of less lethal options was consistent with APD policies and best practices and whether a different approach could have resulted in better outcomes,” the report states.