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A Unified police officer, who shot and wounded an innocent bystander after mistaking him for an armed fugitive who moments before had nearly killed the lawman, will not be prosecuted by the Salt Lake County district attorney's office.

District Attorney Sim Gill said in a letter to Sheriff Jim Winder and Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown, whose department investigated the shooting, that while he could not rule UPD Officer Cory Tsouras' conduct justified under state law, "we decline to file any criminal charges related to his use of criminal force."

"When police officers use deadly force, the risk of mistake cannot be borne by innocent civilians," Gill wrote. "However, criminal charges as a remedy are only appropriate in instances where facts prove elements beyond a reasonable doubt, and there is a reasonable likelihood of success at trial, and the interests of justice are served by prosecution. ... We do not believe a criminal remedy is appropriate in this case."

Gill added that his office's conclusion "should not be read to suggest moral judgment about Officer Tsouras' decisions and actions, right and wrong. ... Officer Tsouras made a mistake — one which was not criminal in nature."

After Gill released his letter, Winder called a news conference to express concerns he had with the DA's determinations, as well as to explain to the public the unique circumstance in which Tsouras found himself.

"Before we judge people — we sit at home on our computers and we suggest that individuals should and could have superhuman abilities to understand all circumstances — place yourself in a position in which you've been shot at and have been shot," Winder said.

According to Gill's investigation, on the night of Oct. 30, 2015, UPD Officer Nate Clark found a stolen vehicle at a Midvale parking lot. When the alleged car thief, 33-year-old Jeremy Michael Bowden, was about to get behind the wheel of the vehicle, the officer blocked the car, turned on his UPD cruiser's light bar, and exited to confront Bowden.

As Bowden ran west from the scene, Clark pursued him for a short distance, but stopped as Bowden entered an area that had trees and shrubbery, with places to hide.

Bowden, however, continued running through a field toward a car wash located near 7200 South and 200 West.

There he encountered Tsouras, whose lights and siren were on as he approached Bowden, who was on the passenger side of the patrol car.

According to Winder, that was when Bowden allegedly "took a stance" and opened fire at the patrol car. One of several bullets lodged in the seam of Tsouras' bulletproof vest. Another slug went through the officer's head rest, and a third was later discovered lodged in the headrest.

The vehicle of a Utah Highway Patrol trooper — who happened to be at the car wash — recorded dashcam footage showing Bowden firing at least one round, then jumping over a wall and landing on the roof of a carport.

On the roof, officers later found an empty 9mm semiautomatic handgun believed to have been used by Bowden, who was eventually arrested as other officers flooded the area.

While Bowden was firing at Tsouras, Winder said, 30-year-old Dustin Evans pulled his vehicle into the car wash "at the most unfortunate moment possible."

Footage from a car wash surveillance camera shows Evans' car pulling into the area just before Tsouras' police lights are seen reflecting on a building's wall, leading Winder to believe that Tsouras never saw Evans enter the area.

Tsouras is shown later in the footage walking toward Evans and shooting.

Car wash footage from a different angle shows Evans parking his car and waiting inside for a short time, likely listening to Bowden firing shots, Winder said.

After a few moments, Evans exits his vehicle and runs toward the car wash's office building, where the people inside — who later told police they were afraid Evans might be a threat — were holding the glass door shut.

As Evans headed toward the office, video shows him stop, turn around and hold out his car keys to lock his vehicle, taking a stance similar to that of a shooter, Winder said. At that moment, Tsouras fired at least three shots at Evans.

Evans, who was struck in the arm and leg, eventually recovered from his wounds.

Gill's 26-page analysis focused on whether Tsouras' "mistake" in shooting Evans was "reasonable."

Gill acknowledges that Evans and Bowden "were of similar build, height and weight and dressed similarly," and that Evans had not complied with Tsouras' commands to halt (Evans later said he did not hear anyone say anything), and that Evans appeared trying to break into the car wash's office, perhaps "to shoot and kill other arriving officers."

But Gill found that Tsouras' mistake was not reasonable for a number of reasons, including that:

• Tsouras "knew he had lost sight of Mr. Bowden" and knew that "he had traveled a considerable distance away" from Bowden

• A considerable amount of time, "more than about 30 seconds," elapsed since Tsouras had last seen Bowden and before spotting and shooting Evans

• Evans was in a public place "where an uninvolved civilian could have been (and indeed was)"

• Tsouras stated he "thought Mr. Evans may have had a weapon that Mr. Evans appeared to be manipulating but Officer Tsouras did not say he saw Mr. Evans with a gun or weapon"

• "Officer Tsouras also did not say that, after acquiring an awareness of Mr. Evans that Mr. Evans presented a threat to him or those inside the car wash office beyond that which he mistakenly inferred"

As for Bowden, he was booked into the Salt Lake County jail, where he remains on $1 million cash bail. He has been charged with first-degree felony attempted aggravated murder, which is punishable by up to life in prison. No trial date has been set for him as of Wednesday.

Twitter: @remims, @mnoblenews