Today, we honor, mourn, and celebrate the life of De’Von Bailey by recommitting ourselves to fight for justice. A year ago today, De’Von Bailey’s life was cut short when police took the liberty of acting as judge, jury, and executioner by shooting De’Von in the back while he ran away, scared for his life. The officers were responding to a 911 call about a robbery, which was later proven in court to be a false report. De’Von left behind family, friends, neighbors, and so many others who love him.
De’Von’s family and supporters are still fighting for justice. His family is in an ongoing lawsuit against Colorado Springs Police, and they join many other families seeking reparations for the brutality of CSPD: from just 2010 to 2015, Colorado Springs paid out over $400,000 to settle cases, and has since continued to face suit for misconduct and racial profiling, such as in the case of Ryan Brown, in which the city settled $212,000. Countless others mourn the loss of their loved ones killed by Colorado Springs Police: Jeffrey Melvin Jr., Deramus Lemuel, Virgill Thorpe, Joshua Vigil.
We will never stop fighting for a society that holds all life preciously. We will never stop fighting to reimagine public safety as an investment in community rather than an investment in oppression. We will never stop fighting for De’Von.