Aurora Police Cite High Demand for Three-Hour Wait at Garden

Residents at the Denver Urban Gardens site near East 16th Avenue and Yosemite Street waited more than three hours for the first police unit to arrive on Aug. 8. Dispatch records obtained by Denver7 Investigates show the initial call came in shortly before 1 p.m., while the first listed officer reached the scene around 4 p.m.

Mathew King, who reported the incident, repeatedly requested assistance while a person damaged the garden. In one recorded exchange, he asked, "Where are your police officers?" A dispatcher replied that they had the call in but did not have an officer available to send yet. The call was classified as Priority 3, a category the city defines as involving low threats to personal safety, such as property crime or disturbances.

Aurora Police Department officials said the delay resulted from a high volume of more urgent emergencies occurring simultaneously. Between 1 and 4 p.m. on that day, the city recorded 11 Priority 1 calls and 15 Priority 2 calls. Officers spent an average of 87 minutes and 44 seconds on scene at those higher-priority calls. The department stated it does not track response times for Priority 3 calls because they often involve non-urgent issues without an immediate threat to public safety.

Mayor Pro Tem Alison Coombs questioned whether active crimes should remain classified as Priority 3. She noted the incident revealed a policy gap regarding how the city categorizes crimes in progress. Coombs also asked the city manager about the cost of adding mobile response teams, leading to preliminary council approval for a fourth Aurora Mobile Response Team in the proposed 2027 budget. The additional team would cost approximately $243,000 and pair a mental-health professional with an EMT or paramedic.

APD and Coombs disagree on whether an additional mobile response team would have altered the outcome of the garden incident. Coombs believes clinicians could have assessed the situation, while APD wrote that the specific circumstances would not have changed the result. The department emphasized that behavioral-health teams are a partial support rather than a complete replacement for law enforcement.

The man arrested in connection with the damage remains in Adams County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a review hearing.

City Council will vote on final budget adoption, which includes funding for the new response team, on Nov. 9 and Nov. 23.