Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke on Friday found a Greeley police officer justified in the May shooting of a man wielding a knife.

Charges will not be filed against Patrol Officer Steven Weichel, who fired four shots at Sean Ybarra at around 2 p.m. on May 14 after responding to multiple 911 calls alleging that the victim was acting erratic and swinging a knife while walking through residential areas in north Greeley, according to a letter from Rourke explaining the decision.

Weichel arrived at the scene near 21st Avenue and 4th Street at around 1:54 p.m. that day, and met with 911 caller Lonnie Korgan, who explained the situation to the officer, the letter says. A minute later, Weichel found Ybarra armed with a large knife near the 1900 block of 2nd Street. The man’s behavior suggested he was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

As parked his patrol vehicle several feet behind Ybarra, Weichel ordered the man to drop the knife, according to the letter. The officer also radioed that he had located the suspect and noted that Ybarra was pretending to stab the air with a knife.

But as Weichel exited his vehicle and closed the door, Ybarra began walking toward him holding a knife in one hand and a large, torch-style lighter in the other, the letter says. Weichel began walks backwards to keep space between the two, pointing his pistol at the suspect and saying “dude, stop!”

Ybarra continued walking towards Weichel despite the officer’s repeated commands to stop, according to the letter. About 35 seconds after the incident began, and after at least three orders for Ybarra to stop walking forward and/or put down his weapon, Weichel fired his gun four times at the suspect.

After the suspect collapsed into the street, Weichel radioed that he had fired his handgun and was waiting for backup, the letter says. Ybarra was not moving; officers arrived about a minute later and found a black folding knife and large red torch-style lighter lying on the street within arm’s reach of Ybarra.

Officers then began giving Ybarra emergency aid, packing two gunshot wounds to his chest and performing compressions, according to the letter. He was then taken by ambulance to North Colorado Medical Center and ultimately pronounced dead at 2:25 p.m. that day.

During Ybarra’s autopsy, the pathologist determined his death resulted from two gunshot wounds, one to each side of the man’s chest, the letter says. Ybarra was also experiencing acute methamphetamine intoxication at the time of his death — the level of the drug in his system was at least 10 times higher than those who display violent or irrational behavior.

Ybarra also had a lengthy criminal history dating back to at least 2003, when he was just 13 years old, according to the letter. He had previously been arrested for weapons possession, second-degree assault and possession of drug paraphernalia, and had been released from the Weld County Jail just five days before he eventually died.

The county’s Critical Incident Response Team conducted an investigation into the shooting, analyzing body-worn camera footage and photographs from the scene, the letter says. Investigators also interviewed Weichel, who recounted the events that took place and provided statements consistent with those from other officers.

Based on the circumstances of the incident, Rourke found that less violent means of de-escalating the situation were impractical, he said in the letter, adding that Weichel’s use of force was reasonable, appropriate and necessary to defend himself from what he believed was imminent danger.