Colorado Springs Officers Won't Be Charged in Death of Black Teen They Shot in the Back

A grand jury declined to press charges against two Colorado Springs police officers who were filmed shooting and killing a black teen earlier this year. Suggested Reading Three Friends Were Headed To A Beyoncรฉ Concert, But One Dies On the Way. Guess What The Other Two Did Next? Our Fave Moments From A$AP Rocky’s Fashion…

A grand jury declined to press charges against two Colorado Springs police officers who were filmed shooting and killing a black teen earlier this year.

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As BuzzFeed News reports, the jury decided Wednesday that the officers were justified in using deadly force, despite the fact that 19-year-old Deโ€™Von Bailey was running away from them at the time he was shot.

The Aug. 3 shooting was captured on a police body camera, which also showed Sgt. Alan Vanโ€™t Land and officer Blake Evenson eventually retrieving a gun from Baileyโ€™s shortsโ€”but not until after he was already handcuffed and wounded.

Vanโ€™t Land and Evenson were called to investigate an armed robbery when they came across Bailey and a friend.

โ€œWe got a report of two people similar descriptions possibly having a gun, alright?โ€ Vanโ€™t Land tells the pair. โ€œSo donโ€™t reach for your waist, weโ€™re going to just check and make sure that you donโ€™t have a weapon, alright?โ€

Bailey never points his gun at officers, nor does he make any motion toward them. As officer Evenson approaches him from the back, Bailey sprints to his right, away from the two cops. Vanโ€™t Land shoots him in the back, instantly bringing the teen down.

District Attorney Dan May defended the grand juryโ€™s decision to reporters on a Wednesday, noting that Colorado law leaves plenty of room for officers to use deadly force.

โ€œColorado law is very carefully crafted,โ€ he said, according to BuzzFeed. โ€œIf the officer has a reasonable belief that the person has used a deadly weapon in a crime and is still armed, they can use deadly force to prevent that person from being a fleeing felon with that deadly weapon.โ€

A Westword blog from early September reported that Vanโ€™t Land had been involved in another fatal shooting of a fleeing suspect in 2012. Three years prior to that, he was accused of beating up a 51-year-old man while attempting to enforce a protection order. The City of Colorado Springs paid out a $50,000 settlement in that case.

Baileyโ€™s mother, Delisha Searcy, posted an emotional plea on Facebook in response to the grand juryโ€™s decision.

โ€œThe officer that murdered my baby will not be held responsible!!! They say it was justified,โ€ she wrote. โ€œPLEASE pray for me!!! My heart is heavy, itโ€™s just not right!!!โ€

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