A district attorney review deemed Adams County deputies justified in their actions after fatally shooting a man who refused to drop a knife while stabbing a woman in 2022.

The 17th Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) investigated the incident, which happened on July 2, and District Attorney Brian Mason issued a decision letter that found the actions of the involved officers to be justified based on evidence and applicable law, according to a news release.

On July 2, a woman, referred to in the letter as R.B. to protect her identity, called 911 to report her husband Ponciano Alvarez-Guzman was assaulting her, according to the letter.

Alvarez-Guzman “banged” R.B.’s head into a wall, grabbed her by her hair, threw her on the ground and “stomped” on her head and started waving a knife at her, she told the dispatcher.

Adams County deputies knocked on the door and Alvarez-Guzman answered with a knife, cursed at the deputies and slammed the door shut, according to the letter. Deputy John Bitterman then kicked the door open.

Bitterman and the other two responding deputies, Jake Padilla and Robert Hannah, all reported seeing Alvarez-Guzman holding a “large” knife near R.B., who was struggling to get away.

Alvarez-Guzman and R.B. then fell to the ground and deputies reported seeing blood “spurting” from R.B.’s neck, according to the letter.

Deputies yelled at Alvarez-Guzman to drop the knife and he continued to stab R.B., at which point Bitterman and Padilla fired a total of 15 shots at him, which killed him, according to the letter. A later toxicological study showed Alvarez-Guzman’s blood alcohol concentration at 0.391, which, according to MedlinePlus, is considered “very impaired.”

R.B. was taken to the hospital and survived her injuries.

Deputies Bitterman and Padilla were concerned about the deputies’ safety when Alvarez-Guzman answered the door with a knife, then concerned about R.B.’s safety when he slammed the door and she started screaming, according to the letter.

The deputies shot at Alvarez-Guzman out of concern that he was going to kill R.B. with the knife, according to the letter.

“The evidence in this case clearly demonstrates Mr. Alvarez-Guzman posed a threat to the life and safety of R.B.,” Mason wrote in the letter. “Deputy Bitterman and Deputy Padilla observed this conduct and acted valiantly to intervene with the least-restrictive amount of force possible under the circumstances. Despite these efforts, Mr. Alvarez-Guzman’s conduct put R.B.’s life in danger and the deputies responded with the degree of force necessary to save R.B.’s life.”