Colorado AG: Aurora police engaged in racially biased practices

• Earlier this month a Colorado grand jury charged each of the three Aurora officers and two paramedics involved in McClain's death with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

The big picture: The investigation found a "consistent pattern of illegal behavior by Aurora Police" that was evident across "many levels of the department," noted the press release.

• Aurora police had a practice of using illegal excessive force and deployed force against people of color nearly two-and-a-half times more often than it did against white people, the investigation found.
• Aurora police also disproportionally arrested people of color and failed to properly document all interactions with civilians.
• “These actions are unacceptable. They hurt the people that law enforcement is entrusted” to serve, Weiser said Wednesday, per the Associated Press.

What's next: Colorado's Department of Law will work with the department to come up with an agreement on reforms that must be implemented regarding officer training, policies, record keeping, and hiring.

• The reform process will be overseen by an independent monitor, per the press release.

Thought bubble, from Axios' John Frank: This is a first-of-its-kind investigation in Colorado, allowed under a 2020 police accountability law that gives the state attorney general the ability to conduct an investigation akin to the civil rights division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

• It’s an incredible new power and how far the attorney general will take it to address bad policing in Colorado is the big unknown.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the grand jury charges were announced on Sept. 1.