Shocking video of the murder of 19-year-old college student De’Von Bailey is the latest police shooting that has many in an uproar.
Disturbing bodycam footage that was recently released shows police in Colorado Springs, Colorado shoot Bailey three times in the back on August 3.
In the video, Sgt. Alan Van’t Land can be heard saying,
“We got a report of two people of similar descriptions possibly with a gun, all right? Don’t reach for your waist. We’re going to check it and just make sure you don’t have a weapon.”
After Bailey started running from the officer, he was hit with four bullets reports say. While police claim they found a gun at the scene and that Bailey was reaching toward his waist when he ran, eyewitnesses and Bailey’s family say otherwise, The Washington Post reports.
WARNING: This video contains graphic images and audio and may be disturbing to viewers.
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) August 15, 2019
Bodycam video released today by Colorado Springs police shows officers shooting 19-year-old De’Von Bailey as he ran from police earlier this month.
STORY: https://t.co/vFIMe4AtC2 pic.twitter.com/anojeYoLuP
According to The Washington Post, police stopped Bailey because
“a man called police around 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 3 to report that he’d just been robbed by two men, one of whom had pointed a gun at him. He described the men and said he knew their nicknames and where they lived.”
Darold Killmer, an attorney for the family, spoke at a news conference saying Bailey is a victim of yet another police shooting.
“Mr. Bailey was trying desperately to flee from the police. He did not have any weapon in his hand, and he had not shown any weapon when he was shot in the back and killed.” He also said, “He was doing everything in his power … to get away. That is what he was doing.”
Attorney Darold Killmer argues it is not obvious Bailey was reaching for a gun in his waistband, therefore police were not justified in shooting.https://t.co/EEsHnNSIBX
— KOAA News5 (@KOAA) August 16, 2019
Killmer also called out the shadiness surrounding the department’s investigation.
“You hand off the investigation to your friends and things come out okay,” Killmer stated.
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers (R) said in a statement last week,
“[We] recognize the concerns of many citizens of our community following the officer-involved shooting of De’von Bailey. We know that there can be frustration with the time this takes, but we cannot compromise the investigation by failing to spend the appropriate time gathering the facts; that would serve no one.”
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