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ALPENA — After a thorough investigation by the Michigan State Police (MSP) and reviewed by Alpena County Prosecuting Attorney Cynthia Muszynski, the Alpena Police Department (APD) officer involved in a shooting on Dec. 22 will not receive any criminal charges, according to a Tuesday press release.

On Dec. 22, officers from the Alpena Police Department and troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Alpena Post conducted a traffic stop after midnight on Grant Street, near Lawn Street, for an allegedly stolen vehicle, The News previously reported.

After the vehicle was pulled over, Jackson Jacobs, 35, an occupant of the vehicle, was shot by an APD officer after he brandished a knife and cut the officer’s hand.

The MSP’s investigation report was thoroughly reviewed by Muszynski with the assistance of Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Nancy Ward, the press release stated. The facts showed the officer was legally justified in using deadly force when he discharged his firearm at Jacobs. It is for that reason that criminal charges will not be issued against the officer.

The actions of Jacobs in the early morning hours of Dec. 22 presented an immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to the APD officers and MSP troopers who were on scene. That was evidenced throughout the investigation and in the injuries he inflicted upon the multiple law enforcement officers on that date. After being pulled over, Jacobs’s erratic behavior and failure to follow simple commands quickly led officers to attempt to put him into handcuffs.

While successfully resisting officers, Jacobs was able to bite a trooper and brandish a knife. Jacobs proceeded to assault the officers with the knife, successfully stabbing a trooper in the shoulder and slicing an APD officer’s right index finger, rendering it useless.

Despite the unavailability to use his trigger finger, the officer unholstered his firearm as the other officers attempted to tase Jacobs. Officers directed him to stop resisting and to drop the knife as the tasers were deployed.

Having once been taken to the ground, Jacobs was then able to get back onto his feet, despite being tased by two separate officers. Upon confirmation that the knife was still in Jacobs’s hand, all officers remained at risk of further injury and the APD officer discharged three rounds at Jacobs.

The APD officer did what he honestly and reasonably believed was necessary to prevent Jacobs from further endangering his life and the lives of the other law enforcement officers at the scene. The APD officer was justified in shooting Jacobs under the doctrine of self-defense or defense of others.

“As your elected prosecutor, it is my responsibility to thoroughly review incidents involving the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers in Alpena County,” Muszynski said. “Once all measures were taken to restrain Mr. Jacobs proved ineffective and Mr. Jacobs had already bitten one trooper, stabbed another with a knife, and sliced an officer’s finger with the same knife, all law enforcement were in grave danger of death or serious injury. Therefore, I have concluded that the APD officer’s use of deadly force was lawful.”