Butler County prosecutor: No charges sought in Dec. officer-involved shooting

Charges will not be filed in an officer-involved shooting that occurred in December.

Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Casey Proctor made the announcement Friday, upon completion of the review of evidence in the case.

"After reviewing all of the evidence, it is apparent in this case the officer was justified in the use of lethal force and charges will not be filed," Proctor told the Daily American Republic on Friday afternoon.

Members of the Butler County Sheriff's Department responded shortly before 3 p.m. Dec. 19 to a report of a sexual assault at a home in Oglesville, Missouri.

During the investigation, a male suspect, identified as Chris Craft, was shot and killed.

Law enforcement at the scene reported Craft was armed and pointed a weapon at deputies, firing two shots. A deputy returned fire and Craft was shot, later dying from his injuries.

An investigation was immediately begun by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The patrol then turned its findings over to Proctor for review.

Proctor said he spoke with Craft's mother and family members, as well as reviewing autopsy findings, including toxicology, and all witness statements from those on scene, as well as emergency medical responders. He also reviewed all evidence and crime scene logs and photographs.

The name of the deputy involved in the shooting was not released by law enforcement. The deputy was placed on administrative leave, which Sheriff Mark Dobbs said was standard procedure. The deputy hasn't returned to active duty.

At the time of the incident, law enforcement said numerous people were inside the residence while deputies and EMS personnel tried to respond to the initial call. Some were highly intoxicated, they reported.

"There were EMS workers inside at the time attending to those individuals, and there was one deputy inside and others outside at the time," Dobbs said in December. "They had been there for a while trying to muddle through the whole situation. That's when the shots started."

Making the situation potentially worse, Dobbs noted, was there were several juveniles inside the home as well.

"That really changes the dynamics of things," he said. "It's a bad enough situation with the officer being in there and this happening, but being in there with a house full of people ... ."