The May 2011 law enforcement fatal shooting of Ute Mountain Ute tribal member Spencer Posey has been ruled justified, U.S. District Attorney John Walsh announced Tuesday.

No charges will be filed against U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Lt. Joseph Keel for the incident in the early hours of May 22 in Towaoc, Walsh wrote in a Tuesday letter to tribal Chairman Gary Hayes, because evidence shows the 34-year-old Posey threatened Keel with a hatchet.

“We could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was unreasonable for Lt. Keel to fire the single shot that stopped Posey’s attack and ultimately caused Posey’s death,” the letter states. “Lt. Keel was clearly justified under federal law in firing this single shot in self defense based on a reasonable belief that Posey was about to kill or cause him serious bodily injury by attacking him with the hatchet.”

The investigation was conducted by the FBI.

Posey was shot once in the abdomen and died the next day at Southwest Memorial Hospital.

The seven-page letter details findings of the investigation, concluding that Keel responded at 5:31 a.m. to a residence in Towaoc to complaints of a shirtless and intoxicated male outside.

The letter states Keel located a shirtless Posey on the back steps who reportedly became aggressive toward the officer, pulled a hatchet from the back of his pants, and threatened the officer.

Keel then backed up, and attempted to pepper spray Posey, but because of a breeze, the pepper spray was not effective, the letter states.

The investigation said that Posey then ran approximately 200 yards into an open area, then stopped, raised the hatchet and charged toward Keel, who ordered Posey to drop the weapon, then fired a single shot.

The BIA and FBI sealed off the crime scene, collected evidence, photographed foot prints, and interviewed potential witnesses in the area, most of which reported not seeing or hearing anything. Residents at a nearby home reported hearing the shot fired, but did not see anything.

The hatchet was sent to an FBI laboratory in Virginia. No latent finger prints were found on the weapon, the letter states, but DNA matching Posey was found on the handle.

An autopsy performed on Posey indicated the man died from a single shot to the abdomen. Evidence shows Posey was facing Keel when the agent fired his weapon, the letter states.

After the incident, family members of Posey said they believe the man was unarmed and fleeing when he was shot.

After decades of perceived abuses by law enforcement, the incident sparked significant unrest on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.

Mobile phone videos were passed around of what was reported to be BIA officers pepper-spraying Utes approaching the officers, and AIM was painted on the windows of vehicles — an apparent reference to the American Indian Movement.

Some tribal members blamed the events leading up to the shooting on alcohol consumption, which is illegal on the reservation. Others said the drinking is in response to social and economic struggles on the reservation, where outsiders are hired to work professional jobs while many tribal members suffer unemployment.

Hundreds turned out for Posey’s funeral, where he was described as an educated, outspoken family man who was competitive in sports and a dancer at the Sun Dance and Bear Dance.

At the time, family members said Posey had a history of being “harassed” by law enforcement.

According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Posey has a history of assault, including a 1996 incident in which Posey struggled with Cortez police officers attempting to arrest him for domestic violence.

After the shooting, Posey was reported to have a blood alcohol content of .326 percent. By comparison, the legal limit to drive in Colorado is .08.

The BIA will now conduct an administrative review of the shooting.

Being in fear of death or serious injury is a legal defense in homicide cases under federal law and BIA policy, the letter from Walsh states.

Tribal Attorney Peter Ortego said there are concerns about BIA protocol and tribal leaders will be meeting with the acting BIA Chief.

Reach Reid Wright at reidw@cortezjournal.com