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Body camera video of deadly Colorado Springs police shooting released

The footage shows the fatal shooting of 19-year-old De'Von Bailey.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) released body camera footage Thursday afternoon recorded by two officers involved in the fatal shooting of 19-year-old De’Von Bailey. 911 calls and an autopsy report were also released.

Bailey was fatally shot Aug. 3 after officers were dispatched following a report of a personal robbery.

“The footage...captured the moments leading up to, including and immediately following the shooting,” a joint statement from CSPD and the City of Colorado Springs says. 

> WARNING: The video below is extremely graphic and may be disturbing for some viewers.

The officers who discharged their weapons were identified Thursday as Sgt. Alan Van’t Land and Officer Blake Evenson. Van’t Land has been employed with CSPD since Jan. 30, 2008, according to the department.

Evenson has been employed with CSPD since Oct. 31, 2012.

In the video from Van’t Land’s body-worn camera, he approaches Bailey and the other suspect. Van’t Land informs them that the department received a call about a possible assault.

Early in the encounter, Bailey is seen placing something into his pocket. 

“Keep your hands out of your pockets,” Van’t Land says in the video.

Van’t Land asks Bailey to identify himself, which he does. He then asks both suspects to put their hands up. They comply.

Van’t Land then informs them both that they received a report of two people with similar descriptions possibly having a gun.

“Don’t reach for your waists,” Van’t Land is heard saying. “We’re just going to check and make sure you don’t have a weapon, alright?”

As another officer begins to approach the pair, Bailey turns and starts to run away.

An officer is heard yelling “hands up” three times, and Bailey doesn't appear to comply while running away. Then eight shots are heard. Bailey then falls to the ground and raises his hands.

As the officers are handcuffing Bailey, an officer suggests they check him for weapons.

“He’s got something between his legs,” an officer says. “He’s got a (expletive) gun.”

The video shows officers holding what appears to be an object between Bailey’s legs. Officers then proceed to cut Bailey’s shorts off and pull them away from him.  

The Bailey family's attorney, Darold W. Killmer, spoke at a news conference Thursday, saying his firm also received the video Thursday.

He said the video showed Bailey was "trying to flee from police" and "did not have a weapon in his hand, and did not show a weapon when he was shot in the back multiple times and killed."

"Police argue they shot him because he was going for [a] gun," Killmer said, adding that the video showed he was trying to get away.

Killmer added that there was "no evidence" Bailey was going to hurt anybody.

"It's been a crushing, difficult day for the Bailey family," Killmer said. "It is impossible for me to imagine a more difficult set of circumstances for a family to undergo."

The body camera video released Thursday comes just a few days after a surveillance video was obtained by the media showing Bailey's final moments after he was contacted by officers investigating a robbery. 

RELATED: Video shows 19-year-old's final moments after officer-involved shooting in Colorado Springs

That video shows Bailey running away from two officers before throwing his arms back and ultimately falling to the ground. 

An autopsy report from the El Paso County Coroner says Bailey died of multiple gunshot wounds. The wounds collectively perforated the heart, left lung and diaphragm, and penetrated the spleen, resulting in massive blood loss and subsequent death, the report says. 

The report says Bailey had four gunshot wounds:

  1. Lateral lower left back, no exit wound present
  2. Lower left back, no exit wound present
  3. Lower left back, no exit wound present
  4. Right elbow, exit wound on lateral right elbow

Bailey also had a contusion above his right brow and abrasions on his left knee.

According to an earlier news release from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, just after 7 p.m. on Aug. 3, officers were dispatched following a report of a personal robbery in the 2400 block of East Fountain Boulevard. The victim identified two suspects to officers, the release says. According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, officers contacted the suspects, and during the encounter, one of them reached for a firearm.

The Sheriff’s Office said in that release that at least one officer fired a shot at Bailey, who had pleaded not guilty the week prior to a series of charges related to a sex assault case.

Killmer also reiterated at the Thursday news conference that the family believes the investigation looking into the death is marked by “many conflicts of interest” and in need of an immediate transfer to an independent team of investigators and prosecutors.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is the lead investigative agency. Colorado Springs is part of El Paso County, and the two law enforcement agencies often work together. 

RELATED: Family of 19-year old shot and killed by police wants independent review of death

"We fear it will be an opaque investigation with the window blinds pulled down," Killmer said.

The investigation was turned over Thursday afternoon to the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Officer-involved shooting investigations typically take between 90-120 days to complete the DA's office said in a Facebook post.

Bailey's funeral service was held Friday at the Relevant Word Ministries in Colorado Springs.

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