Menu
AURORA, Colo. — The ACLU of Colorado said it is investigating law enforcement’s response to a reported home invasion and kidnapping at a troubled Aurora apartment complex last month.
The crime happened at the Edge of Lowry apartments in Aurora just before 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 16. During a press conference, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said two people – a man and a woman – were accosted by approximately 13 to 15 armed individuals before they were kidnapped and taken to a different unit within the same building.
There, Chamberlain said, the victims were “actually bound. They were pistol-whipped. They were beat. They were victimized. They were terrorized.”
The victims were not only kidnapped but their home was burglarized and taken over by some of the suspects in the group, Chamberlain added.
At around 1:50 a.m. on Dec. 17, the victims were able to talk the group into letting them go, Chamberlain said, adding police were notified about 30 minutes later once the victims were safe at a friend’s home in another part of the city.
Nineteen people were detained, and 16 people were taken into federal custody for their alleged ties to the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). Chamberlain said some of the suspects are “without question, 100%” members of TdA.
In a follow-up press conference, Chamberlain said the victims in this crime were targeted after they recorded a fight between two women in front of the apartment complex on Nov. 30, which was later shared by a friend of the couple on social media.
Chamberlain said the couple’s friend who shared the video “immediately became threatened” by the suspects and was forced to flee the state.
Shortly after that person left, the Venezuelan couple was then targeted, leading to the events that occurred on Dec. 16.
Aurora
In a statement to Denver7, Tim Macdonald, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, said the group is “investigating the Aurora Police Department and ICE raid at The Edge at Lowry apartments on December 17, 2024, including efforts to obtain the body camera footage from the raid.”
Macdonald said the ACLU of Colorado sent a letter to all Colorado sheriffs and county attorneys “reiterating that Colorado law restricts state and local law enforcement’s involvement in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law, recognizing that such entanglement threatens community trust and safety, and specifically forbids state and local law enforcement officers from arresting or detaining individuals for civil immigration purposes, including at the request of ICE.”
Full statement:
In a statement, Chief Chamberlain called the ACLU of Colorado’s portrayal of the incident a “gross mischaracterization of the facts.” The police chief said, “Colorado law does not prohibit the Aurora Police Department, or any other law enforcement agency in our state, from assisting federal officials in apprehending criminal offenders or those with federal warrants, both of which applied to the suspects involved in this crime.”
Chamberlain went on to say that his department “will use every available resource – including federal, state and local – to hold those individuals who victimize members of our community accountable. At the same time, APD will not enforce federal immigration laws specifically, nor does it have the authority to do so. We are here to support everyone in our community, and hold those who victimize others accountable, regardless of person’s immigration status.”
Full statement:
V Reeves, an organizer with Housekeys Action Network, said they were at the Edge of Lowry apartment complex on Dec. 17.
“I showed up myself later that afternoon to find that the buildings were still on lockdown,” they said. “People had said that they were not allowed to go to work.”
“We believe that some people were held for as long as eight hours,” Reeves continued. “We’re hearing that the line of questioning that was followed was much more heavily around immigration, rather than around any criminal case.”
Reeves said Aurora PD’s response that day “has left the community in fear.” In his own statement, however, Chamberlain said, “The arrests made, along with the courage of the victims to come forward, have already encouraged other members of Aurora’s migrant community to report similar incidents of victimization.”
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what’s right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.
English 
Français