WARNING: Linked body camera footage shared by the Fountain Police Department may contain disturbing imagery and harsh language, discretion is advised.

(FOUNTAIN, Colo.) — The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s (DA) Office has completed its review of the officer-involved shooting that happened on May 20, 2023, and determined that the officer’s actions were “concerning but do not rise to the level sufficient to support criminal charges.”

According to the DA’s report, on May 19, 2023, at around 11 p.m., officers with the Fountain Police Department (FPD) were called to a home at 3 Taos Circle near Santa Fe Avenue and I-25 in the city of Fountain about a domestic disturbance. When officers arrived they found 51-year-old James Boyle in the yard trying to enter the home. Boyle explained to officers that he had been locked out of the home, causing him to enter through a window.

Boyle told officers that his dog was inside the home and was aggressive, and he didn’t want officers to shoot it. The report writes that Boyle was allowed to enter his home but officers noted his hostility towards law enforcement and advised that two officers respond to any calls to the home in the future.

The next day, on May 20, 2023, at around 6 p.m., Corporal Zackary Corey and Officer Destin Alvarez with FPD were called to the home about a domestic disturbance again involving Boyle. Officers were aware of the incident the night before, that Boyle was hostile towards officers, and that he had weapons in the home.

The officers parked out of sight of the home and were advised that the alleged victim, Shawna Boyle, did not want a police response. As officers prepared to clear the scene, James and Shawna’s adult son Bret Boyle approached officers.

Bret Boyle informed them that his father was threatening his mother, allegedly had sexually assaulted her in the past and that his mother couldn’t leave because she has seizures and is taking care of her mother who is in hospice care.

Bret shared video of his father threatening his mother and said that James was on a methamphetamine binge. The report said that in the recordings, James could be heard making threats to Shawna and threatening to kill her.

Bret also informed officers that there was a sawed-off shotgun in the home but he didn’t know its current location.

Officers drove up to the home, called Shawna and asked her to leave the home to talk with officers. Both James and Shawna came out of the home and waited for Corporal Corey to approach, at which point Corey asked James to come towards him and talk but James refused, asking if he was under arrest.

Corey informed James that he was not under arrest, and during the officers’ conversation with James, he moved back to the front door of the home and placed his hands in his pockets, when officers asked him to take his hands out of his pockets, he turned towards the front door and tried to open it.

According to an interview with Corey, at that moment he was afraid that if James re-entered the home “he was going to kill somebody.” Corey grabbed James to prevent him from entering the home and a struggle ensued.

The family’s pitbull was able to escape the home and attacked Alvarez, pulling him to the ground and biting his face and arm. Alvarez broke free from the dog, pulled his firearm, and fired six times, hitting the dog four times and killing it, according to the report.

During the altercation in a fenced-in section of the home, Corey pushed James, who fell on Shawna. Corey heard the shots but didn’t see what had happened as his attention was on James. Corey reported shots fired and warned James “I will shoot you if you come at us again.”

James stood up and approached Alvarez, and the front door of the home. Alvarez drew his taser and deployed it, hitting James in the chest. The taser did not appear to affect James, who grabbed the front door. Corey then fired his weapon, hitting James twice in the back. The report states these actions occurred within seconds of each other.

James was treated by officers and later paramedics but ultimately died in the hospital. An autopsy reported that James died of the two gunshot wounds and had meth in his system at the time of his death. A sawed-off shotgun was recovered at the home after the incident.

The Deadly Force Investigation Team, made up of officers from various law enforcement agencies, investigated the incident. They concluded based on interviews with the officers and video footage from body cameras that Officer Alvarez was justified in the shooting of the dog as he had a reasonable belief that he was in danger of being killed or seriously harmed.

However, the report said that the team’s investigation found that Corey’s actions were much more difficult to analyze. The report writes that while his actions were concerning, there was insufficient evidence to establish probable cause that a crime was committed. The DA’s Office does not believe the “facts of this case and applicable law would support a reasonable likelihood of success at trial if charges were to be filed.”