The City of Aurora is contemplating a significant increase in its police budget for 2025, following a disturbing incident involving the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The gang's audacious takeover of an apartment complex in the city has prompted officials to consider a budgetary increase of approximately $10 million for the police department.
According to The Post Millennial, the proposed budget for 2025 includes an overall funding increase of $125 million. If approved, the police budget would surge from its current $155.7 million to $164.9 million in 2025. CBS News reports that the plan also includes the addition of new positions within the police department.
Aurora Police Department Chief Todd Chamberlin expressed his concerns about the current staffing levels in the department. "Right now, we are not at our full complement of officers. Our patrol is impacted by understaffing issues, and so that's what I'm looking at right now," Chamberlin told CBS News. He also highlighted the need for technological advancements within the department, stating, "I want to be able to have our officers have a clear understanding of what they are responding to before they even get there. I want to see where our crimes are occurring, when they're occurring and who they are occurring to."
The proposed budgetary increase follows a series of viral videos showing armed men storming an Aurora apartment complex. City officials have since sought a court order to evacuate the building. Fox 31 reported that federal immigration authorities have confirmed the men in the footage as members of the Venezuelan gang.
In response to the gang's activities, a spokesperson from Governor Jared Polis office told the New York Post, "according to police intelligence this purported invasion is largely a feature of Danielle Jurinskys imagination." Jurinsky, an Aurora City Councilwoman, countered this claim in a conversation with the Daily Caller News Foundation, stating, "We have increased funding multiple times. One of the biggest problems in this state, and other like-minded states like Colorado is that people just dont want to be police officers here like they used to."
The police department confirmed in early September that two brothers arrested in July in connection with a shooting were members of the gang. They also suspect that two others involved have ties to the gang. This incident underscores the urgent need for bolstered police resources to ensure the safety and security of Aurora's residents.
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