From KERA:
Dee Smith didn’t know De’Von Bailey. But he knows Bailey’s family, and says he was angry when he heard that the 19-year-old had been killed by Colorado Springs police this summer.
Now, standing by the memorial and the stained asphalt on the quiet corner where it happened, Smith is speechless.
“[Because] then you just imagine that it could be me, it could be my nephews, somebody else, friends that I know that’s from the neighborhood,” Smith says. “Just the fact that it’s from here. I was born and raised out here. It has a little different meaning for me.”
Bailey’s family and supporters have been pushing for a “truly independent investigation.” Once the sheriff’s office turned over its findings in the investigation of the officer involved shooting to the District Attorney, the District Attorney referred the matter to a grand jury, which decided not to press charges against the officers.
People who live in the area, like Smith, are now grappling with what happened and what to do about it.
