COLORADO SPRINGS — The City of Colorado Springs announced Tuesday that it had agreed to settle a civil lawsuit filed after the officer-involved shooting that killed 19-year-old De’Von Bailey in August of 2019.
It happened when Colorado Springs Police Officers responded to a call of a personal robbery on the evening of August 3, 2019. Three days later, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office – which handled the investigation – confirmed the victim as Bailey.
His death prompted rallies and marches across the city and the state, with the intent to draw national attention to the actions of the responding law enforcement officers that day.
In a statement regarding the settlement, the Colorado Springs Police Department wrote: “Any loss of life in our community, regardless of the circumstance, is a tragic event and the officers involved never wished to be part of this incident, nor did they want an outcome resulting in the loss of life. However, under the law and based on the officers’ extensive training, they acted justifiably to protect both themselves and the community. We strongly stand behind our officers and their actions.”
Additionally, CSPD’s statement noted that although the city officially and financially settled the civil case in question, “this settlement is not, in any way, an admission or indication of wrongdoing by these officers. Rather, it was a decision made to mitigate financial risk to the City and taxpayers.”
As part of the settlement, CSPD agreed to officer training on Senate Bill 217, providing anti-bias training, maintaining an early intervention program, retaining officers’ records, and participatin gin a United Way Give campaign.
According to CSPD’s statement, “These policy and training requirements were already in place prior to the settlement and are part of the Department’s policies and practices.”
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, who is scheduled to address the media on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., also issued a statement in response to the settlement, writing in part: “It is important to note that in the conduct of the civil case, neither the judge who mediated a possible settlement, nor the insurance adjusters assigned to the case suggested at any time that the officers acted unlawfully or contrary to department policy. Rather, the insurance carrier cited the ‘anti-law enforcement climate around the country,’ and much larger settlements in other cases in support of its desire to settle this case.”
Suthers noted that, “The settlement of the civil case was dictated by the desire of the city’s excess insurance carrier to resolve the matter and eliminate any risk of a jury trial in Denver. The City of Colorado Springs is self-insured up to $1M in liability for any incident. The City has excess insurance coverage for any liability in excess of $1M. The estimated cost of trying the case through appeal is $1M, so the City would be responsible for that amount whether the case was tried or settled.”
Watch Mayor Suther’s comments live, on this page, at 2:30 p.m.
