AURORA, Colo. — Heather Morris, the third interim police chief for the Aurora Police Department since Vanessa Wilson was fired in 2022, says she'd be interested in accepting the full-time position if it's offered.
"If I had the privilege of being the chief of police without the interim title, it would be a privilege," Morris said in an interview with 9NEWS Tuesday.
Morris, who was sworn in Monday, is the top cop in Colorado's third-largest city after living in the state for less than a year. She was sworn in as Interim Deputy Chief in Aurora in April. Now, she's the city's fifth police chief in five years.
Morris began her 22-year career with the Houston Police Department, and spent time as the Deputy Chief of the Miami Police Department.
"I am not going to be sitting at the desk and being a placeholder," she said.
One of her top priorities is recruiting and retaining officers as the department, like so many in the state, struggles with staffing.
"What exactly are the reasons people are leaving, right? So we have to know why people are leaving, so I have reached out to the union reps for their perspective," she said. "I think one of the things we can do now is have better communication within the department."
Over the last year the number of trained officers has dropped, but in recent months the department has seen a spike in the number of new hires entering the academy.
After the death of Elijah McClain, the city entered into a consent decree - a legal agreement to reform its police department. The agreement also required changes to its hiring policy.
Morris said this change will help with staffing numbers.
"The consent decree required there be a change over from the civil service commission to our city HR," she said. "[Civil service] didn't have the resources that they needed to process the number of people we needed to have in those classes."
Despite the staffing shortages, the city in 2023 saw violent crime go down from 2022.
"So we are having to do more with less and more and more and more with less," Morris said.
Morris said the consent decree was a good thing for the department. Soon, Aurora Police will release a transparency portal that will include use of force numbers.
"We are going to be doing the work that we need to be doing," she said.
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