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Neighbors cry foul after memorial to De’Von Bailey removed

bailey memorial before Cropped

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - It was more than four months ago that De'Von Bailey was fatally shot by police officers while running away from a weapons search -- but a longstanding memorial to Bailey at the shooting site was dismantled Friday by code enforcement escorted by Colorado Springs police officers.

We received video from a KRDO viewer Friday that shows code enforcement sweeping up the area near Preuss Road where the memorial was set up by Adams Park. That's where Bailey was shot while fleeing from the officers on Aug. 3.

The two officers were cleared by a grand jury investigation, which found the shooting justified because officers had information that Bailey may have committed an armed robbery and the officers saw him reach for an item in his waistband, which later turned out to be a gun.

The incident prompted backlash and protests in the city in the weeks following the shooting, but those protests quieted significantly after the release of body camera footage showing the incident. The memorial was established by neighbors and family members.

Friday, neighbors reached out to KRDO with concerns about how the memorial was dismantled.

One officer is heard on camera telling a woman, "There wasn't anything of value there."

The woman claims the memorial had personal effects left by the family, in addition to crosses and candles.

In response, the officer says the memorial was on "private property." According to the property map provided by Colorado Springs, it's not exactly clear if the memorial was on a public easement or if it was on property owned by District 11.

Lieutenant Jim Sokolik added that CSPD had received complaints about alcohol and narcotics scattered throughout the makeshift shrine, prompting the removal.

The memorial did have a section of road that was spraypainted with support messages for Bailey. That isn't allowed, per city code, and those messages were covered up Friday by code enforcement.

But just minutes after code enforcement left the area, people returned to the memorial site and spray painted new messages on the street.

A new message is written Friday after a memorial to De'Von Bailey was removed and covered.

We reached out to the department for comment on the incident, and a spokesperson confirmed that officers and a sergeant went with a code enforcement officer to the area for a cleanup.

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Andrew McMillan

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