DENVER (AP) - Colorado protesters marched to what they say is the home of a Colorado Springs police officer for the one-year anniversary of a fatal incident in which two officers shot De’Von Bailey, a 19-year-old Black man.
The home, which protesters believe belongs to Colorado Springs Police Department Sgt. Alan Van’t Land, was roped off at the time of the protests, Colorado Public Radio reported. No one appeared to have been inside the residence.
Van’t Land, as well as Officer Blake Evenson, were both cleared of any wrongdoing by a grand jury for the 2019 shooting. Officers told the jury that while they hadn’t seen a gun, they believed Bailey was armed when he fled from their questioning.
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney for Colorado also declined to bring charges against the officers. Bailey’s family has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the officers and the city.
While many at the protesters called for Van’t Land’s firing, organizer Shaun Walls said the police department was unlikely to do so.
“We don’t expect anything professional to be done to him,” Walls said.
As a result, Walls said he and other advocates will continue to put pressure on Van’t Land.
“Now we’re going to be at his church,” Walls said. “We’re going to be in front of his neighbor’s house … We’re going to become a nuisance for him.”
Monday’s protest included several demonstrators clad in body armor and carrying rifles or shotguns.
Walls said the protesters organized with arms after receiving online threats of an armed counter-protest.
“We were warned that we were going to be met with violence,” Walls said. “We have the capability to respect ourselves, to defend ourselves.”
The demonstrators blocked the street for a part of the protest, leading to at least one expletive-laden shouting match between protesters and an oncoming driver.
Colorado Springs police officers later ordered demonstrators to allow vehicles through. The department also urged residents to shelter-in-place for the duration of the protests. One resident in the neighborhood, after driving slowly past the crowd, stood in his front yard with a rifle.
The demonstrators ended the protests by standing in silence at 6:45 p.m. for a full minute to signify the exact one-year anniversary of when Bailey was shot.
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