The 4th Judicial District in Colorado Springs has ruled the May 18 police shooting that killed 40-year-old Michael Hurst was justified, and that the officer that shot him will not face prosecution.

The shooting began as a 911 call at 10:30 p.m., when a caller reported that her son, Hurst, a paraplegic, was “acting erratically,” likely using methamphetamines and had a gun. The caller said she knocked him out of his wheelchair to get the gun away from him, but he regained possession shortly after.

During the call, police reported hearing gunfire, but the reporting party confirmed with dispatch she was safe outside after crawling through a bedroom window.

Police officers were dispatched to the home and began making announcements to Hurst, but they received no response. At this time, due to the sound of a gunshot, officers were unsure if he was still alive.

Law enforcement deployed a drone to look inside the house, but once in the air, Hurst fired several shots at it, causing it to lose connection and crash.

Over the next 40 minutes, officers continued to make announcements, calling Hurst to exit the home unarmed and to drop his weapon. Officer Nicholas Cassalia was able to confirm Hurst was in the front of the house.

Moments after Cassalia confirmed Hurst’s location, Hurst came onto the front porch armed with a rifle and was met with repeated commands from police to drop the weapon.

According to previous Gazette reporting when the body-camera footage of the incident was released, one officer on the scene could be heard saying to Hurst, “put the gun down buddy.”

“Nope, not putting it down,” Hurst is heard saying in response. “Y’all are going to die.”

According to the DA’s press release sent Tuesday, seven officers were reportedly on the scene, but only Cassalia had a visual on Hurst. The other officers continued to give verbal commands.

Initially, Hurst’s weapon was pointed to the sky when he first came outside, but his grip changed to hold the weapon diagonally across his body as he took cover behind a wall. In an interview later on in the investigation, Cassalia said this was a “pre-attack indicator.”

Hurst continued to threaten officers from behind the wall, according to the press release Tuesday. Cassalia claims to have seen him move slightly behind the wall and back several times during the threats.

Cassalia “in fear for his safety, the safety of fellow officers on scene and the community at large” fired his weapon four times, killing Hurst. An autopsy report confirmed Hurst received shots to his left chest, left arm and forearm and both index fingers.

In the investigation into the police shooting, the 4th Judicial District ruled that Cassalia had “reasonable belief that lesser degrees of force would be inadequate to neutralize the threat.” Less-lethal options were not “practical alternatives” due to the distance between Hurst and officers.

A toxicology test was also performed on Hurst, which revealed he had alcohol, methamphetamines and marijuana in his system.

Colorado Revised Statute 16-2.5-301, states all officer-involved shootings that result in injury or death must be reviewed by a multi-agency team.

After conducting several interviews with officers, the 4th Judicial District determined the use of deadly force by Cassalia was justified and he will not face criminal charges.