Police Union Boss Put On Leave After Criticizing ‘Racist and Sexist’ Consent Decree

Aurora, CO – The head of the Aurora Police Association (APA) was put on administrative leave after he sent an email to membership slamming the diversity provisions in the consent decree between Aurora police and the state attorney general as “racist and sexist.”

Aurora Police Officer Doug Wilkinson, the president of APA, sent the email to the group’s 240 members on Nov. 16, KCNC reported.

The consent decree followed a state pattern and practice investigation of the Aurora Police Department that found a pattern of racist policing and excessive force.

The agreement, which is scheduled to run for at least five years, called for updated hiring and promotion practices so that the police department would better reflect the make-up of the community, according to KCNC.

“To match the ‘diversity’ of ‘the community’ we could make sure to hire 10% illegal aliens, 50% weed smokers, 10% crackheads, and a few child molesters and murderers to round it out,” Officer Wilkinson wrote.

“You know, so we can make the department look like the ‘community,’” he added.

The email went on to explain how the agreement would address the diversity issue on the police department, KCNC reported.

“The decree indicates that they want to replace as many of the department’s white males as possible with as many women and minorities,” Officer Wilkinson’s email read. “It’s as simple as that. To do that they are going to hire and promote non- whites and non-males wherever they can.”

“The State’s plan, fully embraced by the city, is literally systematically sexist and racist,” he continued.

The officer also criticized the ultimate goals of the consent decree, KCNC reported.

“We’d prefer that they focus on intelligence, personal ethics and courage, which should be our only criteria for hiring and promotion,” Officer Wilkinson wrote. “That’s all I care about. We should only be interested in merit.”

“But that will never do,” he continued. “They’re addicted to race and sex politics.”

Officer Wilkinson told KCNC that the email criticizing the consent agreement was supposed to be “a private email message to the members.”

“I’m trying to have an honest conversation” without it becoming a “word salad,” he explained.

The APA president said his membership was worried the department would not institute “some sort of quota system,” according to KCNC.

Officer Wilkinson wrote that the goals established by the decree couldn’t be met within the five-year timeframe and it was setting the department up to be under a perpetual decree.

“We already hire every minority that passes the minimum requirements,” he wrote. “We can’t make people apply, and people of different race and sex groups apply for police jobs at different rates. It’s a cultural thing that we can’t control and that won’t quickly change.”

“Other than lowering the hiring standards, which we all know has been happening and will continue to happen, but can only go so far, they are going to be stuck wringing their hands,” the APA president added, according KCNC.

“So, yes, the State’s plan, fully embraced by the city, is literally systematically sexist and racist,” Officer Wilkinson continued. “The irony is impossibly thick. The ‘diversity’ hiring and promotion plan won’t work and isn’t your problem so if I were you I’d forget about it.”

Then he went on to explain how the decree would affect policing on a daily basis in Aurora, KCNC reported.

“The department will be deploying new doctrine for only charging, arresting, or fighting certain percentages of various race groups in order to avoid disparate impacts,” Officer Wilkinson warned in his email. “If you push back on this you will lose. Just go with the flow.”

He told officers not to cut corners on anything, even to run to the next pending call, KCNC reported.

“There will be new reporting requirements for everyone you contact on all of your calls. Don’t blow that off,” Officer Wilkinson instructed his membership. “You need to pay careful attention to such documentation. Take the time to do it precisely. If you cut corners on it in order to address the pending calls and then get in trouble I am going to make fun of you.”

He also reminded the officers to “always exhaust all POSSIBLE non-violent options before using any force, and per the department one of those options is to walk away,” KCNC reported.

Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson’s aide, Aurora Police Lieutenant Chris Amsler, said multiple officers complained to human resources after Officer Wilkinson sent the email criticizing the agreement on Nov. 16.

Lt. Amsler said Chief Wilson placed Officer Wilkinson on leave with pay on Nov. 17, KCNC reported.

“We have seen the letter,” the lieutenant said. “Chief Wilson is very concerned about the allegations that have been brought forth by several concerned and courageous employees. Due to the sensitive nature of this on-going investigation we cannot discuss this case further.”

Then Lt. Amsler reminded reporters that APA is not the city’s recognized collective bargaining unit for Aurora police officers, KCNC reported.