(COLORADO SPRINGS) — An officer-involved shooting involving the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) from July 9, 2022, has been ruled justified by the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office (DA).

According to the DA’s office on July 9, CSPD received multiple calls from those living in the 4200 block of Sanders View near South Murray Boulevard and East Fountain Boulevard. Police were told a man was armed with a handgun fighting with a woman, and another caller reported hearing the man say he was “gonna blow someone’s head off.” Police also heard reports there was a toddler on the scene.

When police arrived, Officer Richard Gonzalez reported he could hear a man yelling but didn’t know where the yelling was coming from. While officers were looking for the source of the yelling, they found a woman in the parking lot with a bleeding head wound.

The woman had a child with her and police took her to safety. The woman told officers that the suspect Mack Lee was drunk and going on about how he hated the police.

Officers moved to the rear of the apartment to a concealed area and saw Lee on the rear balcony of the apartment. The officers reported hearing Lee rack a handgun. Officers Joel Conklin and Matt Kirby were in the outdoor stairwell and hallway several feet from the front door of Lee’s apartment.

The DA’s office said the officers moved to the bottom of the stairwell as the officers did not want to be seen by Lee to avoid escalation and to be in a location that was less exposed. While officers were in the stairwell requesting assistance, Lee exited the apartment and approached the officers with a gun in his hand.

Officer Conklin said in a post-shooting interview that when Lee turned the corner Conklin told Lee to drop the gun, however, Lee continued approaching the officers and raised his weapon at them. Both Officers Conklin and Kirby fired their weapons a total of 11 times at Lee, hitting him six times.

According to the report, the officers immediately secured Lee and attempted lifesaving measures. Medical units were summoned but lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful and Lee died at the scene.

A Deadly Force Investigation Team found Officer Conklin fired four shots and Officer Kirby fired seven. The team’s review of body-worn cameras showed officers giving multiple commands to Lee to drop his weapon.

The DA’s Office determined the shooting was justified as both officers did not believe less lethal options would have worked as Lee already had a gun pointed at them.