No charges against Aurora officer who fatally shot suspect with replica rifle

Authorities said no charges will be filed against an Aurora police officer who fatally shot a suspect allegedly threatening officers and others with a replica rifle last year.

Officers were called to what was reported as a fight at an apartment complex near 16th Avenue and Oswego Street in Oct. 2024. Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said the suspect, Kory Dillard, was trying to steal another man's car and hit the victim in the head with a rock. The caller told 911 operators that Dillard grabbed what appeared to be an AR-15 and pointed it at the other man. Another caller contacted 911 soon after, reporting a man waving an AR-15 around.

Authorities said that when officers arrived, they ordered him to drop the weapon. They say they shot Dillard when he raised the rifle and aimed it at them.

Dillard was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where he later died.

After the shooting, Dillard's girlfriend, Anna Harris, said his death was preventable. She shared that he was a combat veteran with PTSD and had been struggling in the days leading up to the shooting. The weapon was a battery-powered airsoft gun he purchased on Amazon, Harris added, and she believes the officers should have identified it as a toy.

Harris said police should have brought in a mental health professional, but Chamberlain said in this case, the policies that would have prompted that response weren't met.

He stated, "This incident is an incident that was violent from the very beginning that Aurora PD became aware of it. It started out as a robbery and a fight. It escalated to where this individual armed himself with what appeared to be an AR weapon, walked up and down the street, completely putting the community at jeopardy, threatening another individual."

On Friday, officials announced that no criminal charges would be filed against the officer involved, stating, "based on the evidence presented and the applicable Colorado law, there is no reasonable likelihood of success of proving the elements of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt."

Dillard's family viewed body camera footage at the Aurora Police Department earlier Friday and plans to hold a vigil for him. They claim that Dillard's back was turned to the officers when they shot him.