Residents in Aurora, Colorado, say police failed to respond promptly to multiple 911 calls reporting a man rampaging through their neighbourhood, destroying a community garden and beehives, and only arrived after he collapsed and needed medical attention. Worku Woldemariam, 42, is accused of causing a string of destructive incidents over several days, including vandalising a sheriff's office, a market, a Starbucks and an ice cream shop, before allegedly spending three hours smashing beehives and ripping out crops while locals watched helplessly and repeatedly called for help. The case has raised concerns about police response times to reports of active property damage.

On 8 August, residents say they first reported Woldemariam around 1pm, but officers were not dispatched until nearly 4pm, despite a 911 dispatcher confirming multiple callers had reported ongoing damage and rock-throwing. Fire trucks and police only arrived after Woldemariam passed out in the garden he had allegedly just destroyed; he was then arrested and taken to Adams County Jail. Aurora Mayor Pro Tem Alison Coombs said she was concerned that "active, in-progress threats and property destruction" were being treated as low-priority calls, while records show Woldemariam had a lengthy criminal history and had been arrested days earlier in a separate incident in Douglas County.