The case of 19-year-old De’Von Bailey, a black robbery suspect, who was killed in August by police officers in Colorado as he was running away from them has come to a conclusion — and the officers involved will not face any charges for the shooting, according to official reports.
The jury has decided to side with the two officers after it came to light that the teenager was carrying a handgun at the time he was shot, giving the officers reasonable grounds to fear for their lives.
A lot about the story is still unknown and has been questioned by some of the people commenting on it.
The exact circumstances of the teen’s death remain unconfirmed and will likely not be brought to light due to the sensitive nature of the case.
Reactions to the court’s decision have been split. Many members of the local community have voiced an agreement with the court’s final stance.
Others have pointed out that there seem to be lots of unknown factors surrounding the case, and have been more reserved in their judgment.
Some of the more vocal critics have been asking why the officers chose to engage the suspect as he was fleeing, instead of trying to capture him alive.
Fourth Judicial District Attorney Dan May stated: “These are not easy decisions. I think there was a totally independent investigation and a totally independent decision in this case. This was a horrible tragedy for our community.”
Bailey’s attorney, Mari Newman, explained: “This was certainly a predictable outcome. This is exactly what you can expect when tainted investigation is presented by a biased prosecutor.”
One commenter reacted with: “This boy was murdered. These monsters should not be able to walk our streets.”
A second person added: “This has been happening to our people for decades with no chance of it slowing down or stopping. The only way they will stop is when their partners start dying every other day or week. An eye for an eye, life for a life. When they don’t see it coming, then they’ll start to rethink their actions. Kill one of mine; I’m killing two of yours!!! Self-preservation is my motivation. ✊✊✊✊✊✊✊”
However, the fact that he was armed has cast doubt on whether that would have been a valid approach in general.
The situation has brought a lot of attention to the ongoing problem of perceived police brutality, although many have noted that this is not a valid comparison due to the unique characteristics of this specific situation.
