The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office has ruled the Sept. 3, 2024, police shooting that killed 29-year-old Tyler Jacob Ben was justified, and the officer who shot him will not face prosecution.

The District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that the shooting that took place in the entrance of the Walmart on Platte Avenue was justified in part because the officer had little room to take cover, and the suspect was pulling out a firearm in an open store, putting the public in danger.

The shooting occurred after officers were alerted of a vehicle theft that took place in the 2300 block of North Powers Boulevard on Sept. 3. Later that evening, police were alerted that the stolen vehicle was seen on North Chelton Road south of East Platte Avenue.

Officer Nicholas Cassalia and his partner found the unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot of the Walmart on East Platte Avenue.

The officers coordinated with the two extra-duty officers working at Walmart to identify the vehicle’s driver. According to the department, extra duty officers are Colorado Springs police officers hired to work in their off time to provide services to businesses, such as the Walmart, that request and pay for them.

The extra-duty officers were able to identify a male driver and a female passenger, providing descriptions and photos to the patrol officers.

The patrol officers then approached the two suspects as they were exiting the store and commanded them to stop in the store breezeway. The female suspect complied and was detained. She was later released without charges.

The male suspect, later identified as Ben, did not comply with officer commands and backed up into the store.

As seen in body camera and security camera footage, Cassalia shouted, “Put your hands up right now!” and the suspect replied, “Make me!” As officers approached the male suspect, he pulled what appeared to be a firearm from the waistband of his pants.

Cassalia and the male suspect can be seen in the video footage briefly engaged in a physical altercation. The officer then fired 14 rounds, striking the suspect several times.

“I thought Mr. Ben was going to kill me and my partner and possibly other people in the Walmart,” Cassalia said in his post-shooting interview, according to investigation documents.

From police announcing themselves to shots being fired, the interaction took eight seconds, based on the body camera footage.

After Ben was shot, a loaded 9 mm handgun with a defaced serial number was found on him, according to court documents.

No one else was injured during the shooting.

Officers rendered emergency medical aid until paramedics arrived. Ben was declared dead at the scene.

A postmortem toxicology test on Ben revealed he had an amphetamine and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

After conducting its review, the District Attorney’s Office determined the use of deadly force by Cassalia was justified and he will not face criminal charges. This was Cassalia’s second officer-involved shooting of that year that was found to be justified by the DA’s office. The first was his involvement with the death of Michael Hurst on May 18, 2024.