An armed mob of “demonstrators” marked the one-year anniversary of the fatal police shooting of an armed suspect by marching to the alleged home of the officer who was involved and demanded that he be fired.
The mob was in a Colorado Springs neighborhood and called for justice in the De’Von Bailey shooting. KRDO reported that several people in the protest brandished rifles and a resident also armed himself with a firearm when protesters arrived at his house.
The move for protesters to go to homes of elected officials is not a new one in the George Floyd protest era. Jenny Durkan, the liberal mayor of Seattle, clashed with other elected officials in her city for encouraging protesters to hold rallies outside her home.
CSPD again telling protestors to continue moving. This truck on the right tried to drive through but was stopped. pic.twitter.com/3rbvXsy2oc
— Chase Golightly (@cgolightlyKRDO) August 3, 2020
Carmen Best, Seattle’s top cop, penned a letter to the city council on Sunday to “forcefully call for the end of these tactics” after these protesters materialized in front of her home. Residents near Best’s home referred to the protesters as “terrorists.”
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The Police Tribune, a pro-law-enforcement news site, cited reports that showed the officers involved in the shooting were cleared by an El Paso County grand jury. They both have returned to the force.
Of course, that resolution was not enough for the angry mob of critics. The mob blocked traffic in the middle of the street chanting Bailey’s name. They blocked traffic and, at one point, the video showed at least three masked men standing in front of vehicles with rifles. When they were confronted by city police, a person could be heard off-camera, yelling, “F—k you, pigs. F—k the police!”
A photo emerged from the scene that purportedly showed a homeowner holding a gun while protesters marched in front of his home. The picture was reminiscent of the McCloskeys in St. Louis after protesters stormed their private community under the guise of social justice.
Officers in the Bailey case responded to reports of an armed robbery. They said that Bailey fled and appeared to reach for a firearm when he was shot.
“I think there was a totally independent investigation, a totally independent decision by this grand jury. I think they took their jobs very seriously and I respect what the grand jury’s done in this case,” Dan May, the District Attorney for El Paso County, said at the time, according to Colorado Public Radio.