COLORADO SPRINGS — Demonstrators gathered outside Colorado Springs City hall Saturday afternoon to celebrate the passing of Colorado’s Police Reform Bill, while also calling for more action in the death of De’Von Bailey.
"But those legislators in those communities all voted for the bill because people spoke up," State Representative Leslie Herod (D-Denver) said to the crowd of demonstrators.
Herod was a sponsor of the Police Accountability Bill which Gov. Jared Polis signed into law Friday. She, along with other state representatives and senators spoke before the crowd of around 200 protesters Saturday afternoon.
"This is not my bill, this is your bill,” she said to the crowd.
The group was also there to remember the life of De’Von Bailey, a man who was shot and killed by Colorado Springs Police in 2019. "The members of the House of Representatives express their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of De'Von Bailey," Herod said.
A grand jury ruled officers were justified in their use of force on Bailey.
“I miss my son,” Bailey’s mother Delisha Searcy said. "And I'm grateful for the bill but I'd much rather have my son"
Protesters, as well as Bailey’s family, called for action to be taken against the officers in ivolved in Bailey’s death. "Of course more still needs to happen,” Searcy said. “People need to be accountable for what happened to De'Von. I'm still not okay with that."
Herod said while she was troubled by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which led to nationwide protests in recent weeks, it was Bailey’s death that inspired her to propose the legislation.
"I will say, that I too am so sorry for the loss of De'Von," Herod said to the crowd. "And I'm so sorry that it took that for us to take action in Colorado. But what I want you to know is that because of that, we had a bill ready."
