SALT LAKE CITY — The officer-involved shooting of a parole fugitive who shot and killed Unified police officer Doug Barney has been ruled to be legally justified.

In a letter handed down Friday, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced his determination that three officers — one of whom was ultimately shot himself — believed they and others were in danger when they exchanged gunfire with Corey Lee Henderson, 31, killing him.

Henderson, having just fled from a car accident, fatally shot Barney in the head as the officer approached him in a Holladay neighborhood after the wreck on Jan. 17. He ran again and was found by the three officers, opening fire on them as well. Henderson was shot multiple times and died at the scene.

Gill called the officers' use of force "reasonably necessary to prevent Mr. Henderson from killing more police officers."

The determination was one of two use-of-force decisions handed down by Gill's office Friday, clearing a total of five police officers.

Corey Lee Henderson

The three officers cleared in the report — Unified Police Sgt. Ben Steiner, officer John Richey and officer Matt Brownlee — provided statements through their attorneys for the reports, each recounting their experiences in the Jan. 17 shooting.

The three Unified police officers were responding to a radio call reporting the accident at 2300 East and 4500 South and Barney's report that he was seeking the man who had run from the crash, later identified as Henderson, and a woman who was with him. Steiner and Richey arrived at the street where Barney had said he spotted Henderson, finding another officer tending to Barney, who had just been shot in the head, according to Gill's report.

Steiner and Richey followed Henderson's footprints in the snow to nearby 2167 E. 4500 South, where they ordered Henderson to show his hands and drop any weapons.

According to Steiner's account, Henderson shouted, "What? What do you want? What do you want?"

Henderson raised his weapon and immediately fired, Steiner reported.

"Instead of complying with the officers' commands, Mr. Henderson opened fire at Sgt. Steiner and officer Richey," Gill said.

Steiner and Richey, joined by Brownlee, returned fire.

Richey was shot twice in the gun battle, once through each leg. In his statement to Gill, Richey described Henderson's demeanor and voice as tense, angry and hostile before he suddenly "squared off" with him and raised his arm to shoot.

Henderson shot first at Steiner, Richey wrote, but shifted his attention when Richey began firing.

"Officer Richey said that as he continued to fire at the suspect, he felt bullets hit his legs. Officer Richey said he continued to fire at the suspect and heard bullets flying by him on either side of him. Officer Richey said that although Officer Richey (and presumably other officers) were firing at the suspect, the suspect didn't react to any gunshots and didn't pause his gunfire. Officer Richey said he believed the suspect may have been wearing body armor," Richey's letter stated.

Eventually, Henderson stopped firing and fell to the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the investigation, it was determined that Henderson fired 10 shots: A single shot that killed Barney and nine more targeting other responding officers.

Henderson was a convicted felon who had faced drug and firearms charges in the past. He was facing new charges and was wanted for absconding from the Fortitude Treatment Center in the weeks prior to the shooting.

The shooting in light of Henderson's release from prison prompted an internal review by the Utah Department of Corrections, resulting in two resignations, and an audit by the state Legislature.

Palm Lautaimi

Palm Samiuela Lautaimi, 28, was shot by two officers and wounded on Jan. 31 after investigators say he ran from police, pulled out a gun and held it to his own head, then pointed it at an officer.

Salt Lake police officer Devin Edmunds approached Lautaimi and a woman with him as they were walking down the middle of Main Street and 1300 South. As he asked the pair why they were in the street, Lautaimi repeatedly moved his hands in and out of his pockets, even as Edmunds told him to stop because he was making the officer nervous, according to a report from Gill.

Edmunds told Lautaimi he was going to place him in handcuffs while he questioned him. Lautaimi tensed when the officer placed his hands on him to cuff him, then took a swing in an attempt to hit Edmunds and ran, the report states.

As Lautaimi ran, Edmunds — who was drawing his Taser — saw him pull out a gun and point it at him, according to the report. Edmunds called for help and pursued Lautaimi down the street and through backyards to 1340 S. Major St. (50 East), less than a block away.

Salt Lake police officer Jesse Stone responded to the call, intercepting Lautaimi and ordering him to drop the gun, the report states. As Edmunds came upon them, he said he saw Lautaimi point the gun first at himself, then at Stone.

As Lautaimi pointed the gun at him, Stone thought to himself, "Am I the next Doug Barney?" according to the report.

Both officers fired. Video of the shooting captured seven shots. Lautaimi was struck, but later recovered.

Edmunds and Stone believed that deadly force was necessary to protect themselves and one another after Lautaimi pointed the gun at them, Gill determined following an investigation that included review of footage from the officers' body cameras.

Lautaimi now faces federal charges, including two counts of a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm used during a drug trafficking crime.

The shooting raised questions of whether Lautaimi should have been free from police custody at the time of the shooting. A convicted felon on parole, he had been arrested just two weeks earlier after police found him to be in possession of a loaded gun and 10 "twist baggies" of meth, according to a police report.

He was released from jail after Adult Probation and Parole officers declined to pick him up because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend and three days passed without charges being filed.

Contributing: Nicole Vowell

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