South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says a Rapid City police officer was justified in using deadly force against a man who charged at him 2 months ago.
The identity of the officer who fatally shot James Murphy has never been released.
Jackley reached his conclusion that the officer faced a “clear and present danger” and that there was danger to the public based on an extensive review by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation of the November 18 incident..
The DCI reviewed video and audio recordings from the officer’s body camera and from surveillance cameras, findings by the South Dakota Forensic Laboratory, and witness interviews.
Jackley says the officer “encountered an armed individual in a dangerous, escalating and tense environment (and) attempted to deescalate the situation but the individual they encountered continued with threatening behavior.
Jackley added that his thoughts and prayers remain with both Murphy’s family and with the officer who was placed in what the attorney general called “this most difficult situation.”
The police investigation showed the officer responded to a call about a man running through the halls of an apartment building and creating a disturbance.
He let himself into the building and was immediately met by Murphy, who then charged at him with a knife and tried to stab him. The officer fired his service weapon twice and hit Murphy both times. Murphy died later at a hospital.