Burning outrage. Disruption of public meetings. Officials’ attempts to clamp down.

As that pattern has played out in Aurora over the last year, the City Council has struggled at times to maintain decorum inside — and occasionally outside — its chamber. Last week brought the latest attempt in Colorado’s third-largest city to tighten its rules for public participation as it tries to manage what has become a highly combustible and disruptive atmosphere, spurred by the 2024 police killing of an unarmed Black man.

The council voted 6-4 on May 5 to limit speakers at the lectern to one at a time, with exceptions for children, those needing interpretive help and people with physical disabilities. A second — and more legally dubious — proposal to forbid photography or the recording of videos in an area close to the dais was withdrawn at the last moment.

Last week’s rule change comes after Aurora’s council already did away with call-in comments last fall. Earlier this year, it moved the general public comment period to a 40-minute window before each meeting’s official start.

Since the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Kilyn Lewis by a SWAT officer with the Aurora Police Department, protesters have regularly come to council meetings demanding accountability. In that May 23, 2024, incident, police were trying to arrest Lewis on suspicion of attempted murder; after a review, the Arapahoe County district attorney last fall declined to file charges against the officer who killed Lewis, Michael Dieck.

In the Aurora council chamber, meetings have descended into chaos as protesters have become loud and unruly, on occasion sending elected leaders behind closed doors to finish business virtually.

Disruption at the most local level of the democratic process is hardly an Aurora-only phenomenon. In late 2023, pro-Palestinian demonstrators took over the Denver City Council chamber to oppose a pro-Israel conference in the city, prompting the council to postpone the second half of its scheduled business.

In Fort Collins last year, three women glued their hands to the wall inside the City Council chamber as part of a pro-Palestinian protest. The incident prompted the council to pass a measure allowing it to go remote in the event of future disruptions.

The ongoing violence in the Middle East has also regularly brought activists to Boulder City Council meetings over the last year, with protests as recently as last month resulting in the council taking multiple recesses before clearing the chamber of audience members.

Kevin Bommer, the executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, said his organization often gives city leaders around the state advice on “civility in governance” and “how to respond graciously while respecting First Amendment rights and the need to conduct public business.”

But an intensified political atmosphere, along with novel technology that has allowed just about anybody to become a broadcaster, have made the task harder, he said.

“Perhaps political mood has aggravated it, but live-streaming and social media presence likely has had a bigger impact,” Bommer said.

“The meeting now provides a greater opportunity for performance by the public, and sometimes by officials.”