This afternoon Chief of Police Vanessa Wilson terminated the employment of Officer Robert Rosen for using excessive force during an arrest.
On August 10, 2020 Officer Rosen responded to the King Soopers store located at 6412 South Parker Road to assist a fellow officer who was in contact with an uncooperative man who he was attempting to arrest for trespassing. The officer who was requesting assistance was on the ground with the man who was passively resisting by laying on his stomach and keeping his arms underneath him. When Officer Rosen arrived he briefly tried to get the man's arm out without giving any verbal orders. He then escalated the situation by punching the man multiple times in his ribs. He deployed his Taser a total of five times, for a total of 27 seconds in a two minute period. During the arrest Officer Rosen never attempted any lesser means of force nor did he make any attempts to deescalate the situation in accordance with Aurora Police training.
The man received minor injuries during the arrest, he was released to paramedics who transported him to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.
In accordance with Department Directives a use of force investigation was immediately initiated by a patrol supervisor who reported and documented his concerns about Officer Rosen's actions. This incident was then reviewed by the department's Force Review Board who recommended that it be investigated by the Internal Affairs Bureau for potential directive violations.
During the Use of Force and Internal Affairs Investigation it was discovered that Officer Rosen had failed to activate his body worn camera when he arrived on scene and failed to document his justifications for each use of force that he used during the arrest. During the discipline review process Officer Rosen was sustained for violating the following Department Directives:
5.3: Use of Physical Force
14.2.15: Unsatisfactory Performance
16.4.3: Body Worn Camera Operation
5.8.10: Taser
14.1.1 Lawful Orders
The District Attorney's Office for the 18th Judicial District completed a criminal review of this incident resulting in no criminal charges being filed against Officer Rosen.
“Members of the Aurora Police Department have been working tirelessly to rebuild trust in our community and I want to thank those officers who do it right everyday. The actions of Mr. Rosen were in direct contradiction of those efforts," said Chief Vanessa Wilson. “The poor decisions he made that day do not meet the high standards that the community and I expect from my officers.”
Mr. Rosen was hired in 2017 and was last assigned to District 3 Patrol. In 2020 Officer Rosen received a 10 hour suspension for Lawful Orders.
Internal Affairs Investigation Summary of Evidence
Order of Discipline
In the interest of transparency we are releasing the body worn camera footage which shows the vantage point of the original officer on scene.
WARNING: This body worn camera footage may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Lieutenant Chris Amsler
Commanding Officer
Media Relations Unit
720.432.5095
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