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Report: Witnesses said man shot, killed by Durham police had gun

A preliminary report on a fatal shooting involving Durham police last week indicates witnesses said the man who was killed had a gun and refused to drop it when officers told him to do so.

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DURHAM, N.C. — A preliminary report on a fatal shooting involving Durham police last week indicates witnesses said the man who was killed had a gun and refused to drop it when officers told him to do so.

Durham Police Chief C.J. Davis provided the so-called "five-day report" to City Manager Tom Bonfield on Wednesday in the Feb. 15 shooting death of Kenneth Lee "Simba" Bailey Jr.

Police have said Bailey, 24, was fleeing from three officers trying to arrest him for violating the conditions of his bond and pulled a gun on them when he was shot and killed on Glenbrook Drive in the Club Boulevard public housing complex.

The five-day report said four people were inside the house at 2512 Glenbrook Drive when Cpl. J.E. Lloyd, Officer T.M. Greathouse and Officer A.G. D'Meza knocked on the door. Bailey then ran out a side door and across the street, with the three officers in pursuit, the report states.

About 20 seconds later, according to the report, one of the officers told a 911 dispatcher, "I’ve got shots fired. I’ve got a man down," and requested EMS. Greathouse and D'Meza performed CPR on Bailey, and an ambulance arrived within four minutes, but Bailey was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the shooting, Durham police canvassed the neighborhood and spoke with residents to gather additional information. According to police reports, one person told officers he heard three shots, and another person told officers he saw Bailey "throw a black gun back toward the street." A third person told police "the officers had asked the suspect to drop his weapon several times before the officers fired their weapons" and that he also heard three shots.

Police haven't yet released details of how many shots were fired, who fired them and where Bailey was shot.

A .45-caliber handgun that was reported stolen in Durham in December was found near the body, the five-day report states.

Greathouse, D'Meza and Lloyd have been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of a State Bureau of Investigation review of the case, which is standard protocol for officer-involved shootings.

Bailey was wanted on charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony conspiracy in an August incident in which he allegedly stole thousands of dollars in cash and electronics and threatened a man with a gun.

Authorities said last week that, after he was released on a $250,000 bond, Bailey was on electronic monitoring that required him to be at home from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. He called the monitoring service on the night of Feb. 14 to say that he had to take a family member to the hospital, but when he didn't return by 2 a.m. on Feb. 15 and didn't return phone calls, authorities issued an order for his arrest.

Authorities said they later determined he was at various locations throughout Durham that night and spent the night at a hotel.

Bailey, whose funeral is scheduled for Thursday, also faced a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

His family declined to comment on the five-day report.

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