Hundreds of people of different races stood outside Colorado Springs police headquarters Tuesday chanting and clapping as ministers and family members of De’Von Bailey demanded an independent investigation into the teen’s death.
The family has said Bailey, 19, died after he was shot in the back by police. But Darold Killmer, an attorney for the Baileys, rolled back an earlier claim from his law firm that the teen was shot seven times.
Several witnesses said they heard seven gunshots fired by police, Killmer said, but he acknowledged some shots may have missed Bailey.
The rousing peaceful demonstration was loudly interrupted by a white man who rode by on a bike and heckled Greg Bailey, the teen’s 36-year-old father, as he spoke softly into a microphone asking for justice.
“For anyone to pass judgment on De’Von, shame on you. God is the only one who can pass judgment. Every man is innocent until proven guilty,” Bailey said, as competing voices shouted amen or tried to drown out the heckler. “This about what is right and what is wrong.”
The officer, or officers, who shot his son in the back were wrong, Bailey said.
De’Von Bailey’s mother, Delisha Searcy, 36, of Georgia, arrived at the rally surrounded by family members wearing purple T-shirts with numerous pictures of him emblazoned on them. They gave her long hugs.
Stepping up to the microphone, she expressed her grief for her dead son.
“I just want to say that I miss him,” Searcy said. “De’Von was such a loving person. I want justice for him because everyone deserves justice.”
Colorado Springs police have said two police officers responded to a robbery report at about 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 3 in the 2400 block of East Fountain Boulevard. At least one officer shot one of two suspects as he reached for a firearm, police have said. A gun was recovered from the shooting scene, police reported.
The shooting already has triggered protests outside the Colorado Springs Police Department headquarters. On Tuesday, the department closed its office at 702 S. Nevada Ave., and cordoned off a block around the building while the demonstration was happening.
An energetic crowd waved dozens of placards and homemade signs decrying the shooting and asking for justice.
“Stop police brutality against black and brown people,” read a sign held by Jerima King, 61. Colorado Springs has followed a national trend where police shoot and kill black and brown men without due process, she said.
“De’Von had a right to a fair trial and he was summarily executed by police,” King said.
“This tragedy is affecting our entire community and the entire nation is looking to see how we will handle it,” said Deb Walker, executive director of Citizens Project, which advocates equality in the community.
She told the crowd that Bailey’s shooting death was just the latest in a string of fatal officer-involved shootings of young black men in Colorado Springs. She called upon Suthers to ask a neutral law enforcement agency to investigate Bailey’s shooting.
“Our community has honest misgivings about De’Von’s shooting,” Walker said.
Several local church pastors called upon Mayor John Suthers to request an independent investigation by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, a position he once held. The pastors also demanded the immediate release of body camera footage from the two officers involved in the shooting.
“We cannot allow friends to investigate friends,” Terry Thomas, pastor of Lifting up Jesus Church in Colorado Springs, said. “We all know how this move ends. We are now demanding an independent investigation.”
Police have cited the ongoing investigation in denying The Denver Post’s requests for body camera videos. But the department has said it will release the footage after the sheriff’s office completes its investigation some time this week.
“The footage scheduled for release captured the moments leading up to, including and immediately following the shooting. As the releasing authority, CSPD has committed to releasing the footage only at such a time when it will not jeopardize or compromise the investigative or judicial process,” a Friday news release said.
Vietnam veteran Jim Felder, 77, held up a small sign on green card cardboard that said, “Am I next.”
He said he saw a clip of the shooting on TV.
“I don’t think it was right,” Felder said. “The young boy was running away from him when he was shot. I hate to see people get shot like dogs in the street.”