These protests were hosted at Aurora Municipal Center by Aurora Copwatch and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. It included activist speakers before the march on Highway 225 began. And before two men in a blue Jeep decided to commit what is obviously attempted manslaughter/murder for the world to see.
“I was present in Aurora until around 7:30 PM. I am sharing this so people have clarity about what happened on the ground.
We were marching Highway 225 when the blue Jeep barreled down the Northbound lane, despite us seeing Aurora Police Department (APD) blocking off exits — (as of this writing) I still don’t know how this Jeep got through the supposed blockade.
Lives were saved by a man in a white truck (later identified as Sebastian Sassi) riding along in solidarity. He noticed the blue Jeep speeding towards the group of protesters and swerved his truck in an attempt to slow it down. The vehicles collided, the truck was totaled, but the Jeep didn’t stop. It revved loudly and charged full speed ahead — straight for us.
The only reason no one was run down was because of that crash, which alerted the group to look back and spot the Jeep.
Within seconds, we fled to the East and West sides of the highway to avoid being hit — but as we dashed to the West median (or off the east side of the road, a 20-foot drop), gunshots rang out.
I’ve heard the sound of gunshots before, but only at gun ranges— all I could hear was people screaming “GET DOWN!” and “MEDIC!” everywhere.
Someone hastily directed me to jump over the 4-foot concrete divider for the southbound lane — after hopping it, I dove to the ground. That short wall of concrete was the only shelter on a multi-lane flat highway. The nearest exit was half a mile away, and there was no escape in sight. We were sitting ducks if shooting continued.
I learned shortly after that the gunshots did not come from the blue Jeep, as many suspected at the moment. They came from a protester aiming for the Jeep. One protester was shot in the leg (I watched them go down, about 100 feet away from me) and another protester escaped potential death by a few centimeters as a bullet grazed their head.
I made it out safe and uninjured. I learned today that the two white men in the blue Jeep also made it out safe and uninjured. APD caught up to their Jeep and made no arrests. (Still true as of July 27)
This is the same police department that threw Elijah McClain to the ground, held him down, requested an injection of ketamine, and eventually killed him in August 2019. This is why we were marching. They had a chance to show consistency but instead defaulted to protecting white drivers attempting vehicular homicide. Civil disobedience should not be a death sentence. Walking while Black should not be a death sentence.
Black Lives Matter. Justice for Elijah McClain. Fuck APD.”