COLORADO SPRINGS — The cousin of De'Von Bailey was found not guilty of assault by an El Paso County jury that heard evidence in the incident that lead up to the August 3, 2019 officer-involved shooting.
Lawrence Alejandro Stoker was charged with Class 1 Misdemeanor Assault and Class 3 Misdemeanor Harassment.
According to the call to 911, a young man told police he was on E Fountain Blvd when two men armed with a pistol confronted him and demanded his belongings. He said in the incident with two black males one knocked him down then the other pulled out a gun. He claimed the men took his wallet. He told the 911 calltaker he knows the suspects, identifying one by a nickname of 'Spazz' and the other as 'Lawrence.'
A short time later, officers were checking out the report of a robbery with a weapon when the contacted De'Von Bailey and Lawrence Stoker based on the man's description.
The rest of the incident was captured on Home surveillance videoand officer's body worn camera video.
De'Von Bailey and his cousin had their hands up as the officers approached. When they are asked if any one of them are armed, Bailey begins to run away. The officer with the bodycam chased Bailey and pulled out his weapon, yelling, "Hands up! Hands up!" That's when officers at the scene, identified as Sgt. Vant Land and Officer Evenson, chase and fire multiple shots at Bailey.
It appears officers fired at least 8 times as Bailey had his back turned to them. Bailey fell to the ground and an officer again yelled, "Hands up! Hands up!" Bailey lifted one hand and then fell back to the ground.
The autopsy revealed Bailey was shot 4 times. Three bullets entered his torso, perforating several organs, including his heart, left lung and spleen. He died following massive blood loss.
In the body worn camera video, police are seen cutting away Bailey's pants, which show the outline of a gun. Investigators say a weapon was recovered from the scene.
Amid calls for an independent investigation the case was referred to a grand jury by the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office in October. The grand jury determined in November that the officers were legally justified in shooting and killing Bailey. Stoker was uninjured in the incident.
