Two men escaped from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Aurora after a power outage unlocked a set of doors Tuesday night, sparking a dispute between local and federal law enforcement about the subsequent response.
ICE officials first released information about the escapes of 24-year-old Geilond Vido-Romero and 32-year-old Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez on Wednesday, stating local authorities “were notified immediately and declined to assist with the search.”
But Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain disputed that claim Thursday, alleging that officials with The GEO Group, which runs the Denver Contract Detention Facility, did not call 911 to report the escape until nearly five hours after they realized two people were missing.
“The Aurora Police Department was never asked to conduct an active search or provided with any of the necessary details to do so,” Chamberlain said at a news conference Thursday. “…As of 3 p.m. today ICE GEO has still not provided essential information — no escape fliers, no booking photos or further details.”
Federal arrest warrants for the two men were still not in law enforcement systems as of Thursday afternoon, Chamberlain said.
Facility staff discovered Vido-Romero and Gonzalez-Gonzalez had likely escaped after a power outage at 9:30 p.m Tuesday, according to the Aurora Police Department.
ICE officials did not say how the men escaped, but The GEO Group provided a statement to The Denver Post confirming there was “a power disruption and outage” that may have damaged parts of the security system, allowing two people to bypass security, scale a perimeter fence and escape.
An assistant facility administrator told Aurora police the back doors of the facility opened up to the soccer field when the power went out and the power outage also took security cameras offline, according to a police report.
GEO staff started an emergency headcount and determined the two men had likely escaped by 10 p.m., finishing the headcount early Wednesday morning, and first called 911 to report a possible escape and request help from Aurora police at 2:30 a.m., APD officials said.
Chamberlain played a recording of the entire 911 call on Thursday and emphasized the lack of urgency from the facility employee who called in the escape.
Under the department’s agreement with The GEO Group, an escape that’s more than 15 minutes old is a “cold escape.” In a “hot escape,” Aurora officers may set up a perimeter around the facility, while cold escapes are filed as a police report.
A shift commander called the facility at 3:30 a.m. to verify it wasn’t an immediate or ongoing situation, and an officer arrived at the facility at 5:15 a.m. to take a report, Chamberlain said.
In a statement, GEO Group officials said they are working with ICE and local law enforcement to investigate the incident, calling security of the facility and neighborhood a top priority.
“We are working urgently to ensure that all necessary corrective actions are implemented to prevent such instances from reoccurring,” the statement said.
The company did not respond to questions from The Post about back-up generators or other measures to maintain security during power outages.
ICE’s Denver field office did not respond to a request for comment on the Aurora Police Department’s statements.
Chamberlain said he was disappointed by ICE’s response but he remains committed to the department’s partnership with federal law enforcement.
“I hope there’s some self-assessment going on in that GEO facility and I hope there’s some self-assessment going on at ICE,” Chamberlain said.
There is no known connection between the two men who escaped and the Aurora community, police officials said Thursday.
Vido-Romero was arrested by ICE in Castle Rock on Feb. 26 after officers contacted him at the Douglas County Jail and was awaiting deportation to Venezuela, federal officials said Wednesday.
Gonzalez-Gonzalez was arrested by ICE on Feb. 12 after they encountered him at the Adams County Jail in January. He was awaiting immigration proceedings.
ICE officials did not say why the men were arrested in Adams or Douglas counties. No district court case exists for Vido-Romero and Gonzalez-Gonzalez’s case was dismissed with no charges filed, according to court records.
The escape happened several hours after a crowd of more than 100 people gathered outside the facility Tuesday night to protest the arrest of immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra.
Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky also criticized ICE’s response in a Thursday morning post on X.
“The truth of the matter here is that the finger-pointing at APD will not be tolerated,” Jurinsky wrote. “APD has been wrong several times. I have called them out several times. They are not wrong on this. ICE failed the proper protocols during a power outage and allowed two inmates to escape.”
Jurinsky also highlighted a state law that prevents local police from searching for people wanted on civil immigration detainers, rather than criminal.
“Instead of telling the truth about a terrible Colorado state law that prohibits local law enforcement from working with ICE, they decided to take a cheap shot at APD,” she wrote.