SOUTHERN COLORADO — A grand jury looking into the shooting of De'Von Bailey by Colorado Springs Police officers has come to a decision.
The 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office announced the results on Wednesday. Dan May shared that the grand jury found the officers were legally justified in the fatal shooting.
The decision - a huge disappointment for Bailey's family according to a lawyer representing them. Attorney Mari Newman said the outcome is not the least bit surprising. She said the system has been designed from the very beginning to make sure that the police officers who shot De'Von Bailey were exonerated.
"For De'Von's family this was a real kick in the gut," said Newman. She shared that the family was hopeful that the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office would present a good case to the grand jury "to allow the grand jury to find that the police officers had violated his rights when they shot him in the back."
However, as she and others have said from the very beginning they believe how this case has been handled isn't fair.
"When there is a tainted investigation presented by a biased prosecutor the grand jury doesn't have adequate information to make that kind of a finding and that's exactly what the system was designed for."
When it comes to the grand jury decision May said, "The grand jury is an absolute independent body. This is their investigation. This is their report. Although we are the ones that call the grand jury and my attorney is in the grand jury asking questions my attorney actually works for the grand jury...quite frankly I think it's a red herring to say the El Paso County Sheriff's Office investigated this."
For those who think law enforcement isn't held accountable May said, "Since I've been district attorney we've prosecuted at least 30 law enforcement officers including Colorado Springs Police Department officers."
As for the Bailey family Newman said, "The only way that accountability can be found in this case is by the family standing up for their rights in federal court and that's what we expect to do."
Friends of De'Von Bailey are also speaking about the grand jury's decision. One believes the grand jury only listened to one side of the case and that this was a hit job from the very beginning.
As Newman mentioned she expects the Bailey family to take this case to federal court. News 5 will keep you updated on that.
For more information on the grand jury's decision CLICK HERE.
