Wright County deputy who fatally shot man holding a pipe cleared of wrongdoing

The Wright County deputy involved in a shooting incident that resulted in the death of 67-year-old Jeffery Chapman from St. Michel, Minn., has been cleared of any wrongdoing by county attorney Brian Lutes.

After being investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Lutes determined the use of deadly force by Deputy Austin Feenstra during the March 2 encounter was justified.

"Based on the totality of circumstances known to Deputy Feenstra at the time, he used deadly force," The news release reads. "An objectively reasonable officer would have believed deadly force was necessary to protect Deputy Feenstra from death or great bodily harm."

The incident unfolded when Feenstra tried to pull Chapman over for erratic driving in St. Michael. He traveled about two blocks before stopping.

When Chapman got out of the vehicle, he pulled an object that the deputy believed was a knife from his waist and began moving towards Feenstra.

Feenstra backed up when Chapman refused to listen to orders to stop and drop the weapon. He then fired his gun, hitting Chapman multiple times, killing him.

The weapon on Chapman was later confirmed to be a nine-inch metal pipe.

The Wright County Attorney's Office says, "No criminal charges will be filed as the use of deadly force and the shooting was authorized and justified statutorily based upon the circumstances of this incident."