COLORADO SPRING – Three people were arrested on suspicion of engaging in or inciting a riot, both felonies, and other charges during a protest near the home of an officer involved in the fatal shooting of a Black teen, Colorado Springs police said Friday.
Two of those arrested Thursday in connection with the Aug. 3 protest over the 2019 killing of De’Von Bailey were armed with rifles, one of which was allegedly pointed at a person in a vehicle, while the third is suspected of trying to take a cellphone from someone, police spokesman Lt. James Sokolik said. They haven’t been charged by prosecutors.
Arrest affidavits were sealed so details about what they are accused of doing were not available. Most of the allegations involve interactions that happened with vehicles trying to leave the neighborhood, Sokolik said.
Protesters blocked a street and, after one driver said that both officers involved in Bailey’s death were legally justified, some protesters began banging on the truck and yelling at the driver, The Gazette reported. The driver was ultimately allowed through.
In November, a grand jury found the officers were justified in shooting Bailey. Federal authorities later announced there was no evidence of a criminal civil rights violation.
