The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office has found Lafayette police Corporal Leonard Fazio and Officer Houston Lair’s non-fatal shooting of Sean Wood on Oct. 22 legally justified.

In a release, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said under the circumstances it was reasonable for Fazio and Lair to believe the victim, David Wood, and possibly themselves were in imminent danger of being killed or seriously injured.

According to a release from the office, Fazio and Lair responded to the 2441 Waneka Trail at approximately 2:50 a.m. on Oct. 22 in reference to a “psychotic event” that was reported by David Wood, the father of Sean Wood. Upon arrival, Fazio and Lair found the father and son on the front lawn of the residence and reported that Sean Wood was armed with two knives.

The officers drew their service weapons, according to the release, and Fazio demanded that Wood “drop the knife right now!” According to the release, Sean Wood then ran at his father and stabbed him a total of seven times as the officers continued to demand he drop the weapon.

Fazio then fired his gun three times in quick succession, according to the release, which was followed by two shots fired by Lair in quick succession. Fazio and Lair’s shots were fired within one second of each other and the shots were fired nine seconds after they arrived on scene, according to the release.

Sean Wood then collapsed to the ground but did not let go of the knives. His father was moved to a confined location and Fazio is then heard saying to Sean Wood, “Drop the knife dude. Throw the knife. I want to help you.”

According to the release, Sean Wood then dropped one of the knives and Fazio kicked it away while Lair drew his taser. Then, after observing Wood had a second knife which he moved from his left hand to his right hand, Wood began attempting to stab himself in the chest, the release said.

Six more commands were given for him to stop, however after Wood disregarded them, Fazio ordered Lair to “tase him.” The taser was effective and the two approached Wood before Lair took the second knife from Wood’s hands. While prying away the knife, Lair is reported to have tased Wood again.

Aid was then rendered to both Sean Wood and his father. According to the release, both sustained serious injuries.

“The Critical Incident Team conducted a thorough and independent investigation, which is important in these situations,” Dougherty said in the release. “Based on my office’s review of that investigation, each of the law enforcement officers was justified in using force to save Mr. Wood’s life. They moved quickly and bravely in response to the serious threat and immediately rendered medical aid to both the father and son. It is a sad case; it is fortunate no one died that night.”

Sean Wood, 22, is charged with attempted first-degree murder — after deliberation; first-degree assault with use of a deadly weapon; second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury; felony menacing; third-degree assault — knowingly or recklessly causing injury; and violent crime with the use of a weapon.Sean Wood is currently out of custody on a $10,000 surety bond posted by his father. He is set to appear for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 5.

According to the release, Sean Wood is observed on Ring footage arriving at the residence at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 22. Over the course of eight minutes, he is observed pacing toward and away from a gun safe in the garage. Sean is then observed entering the home unannounced and is greeted by his father, who lives there alone.

According to the release, a couple minutes later, David Wood is seen on Ring footage entering the garage saying, “you’re scaring me,” before Sean tells him he needs to see his dad open the safe so he knows it’s him. David refuses to open the safe to which Sean says his dad is a liar and he’s going to have to kill him.

Sean continues to act abnormally, including challenging his father to a fight, pushing his father down the garage stairs and stating, “you’re not me and you’re just a (expletive) machine,” which prompts David to call 911. During the investigation, it was determined around the same time David called 911, his son grabbed two knives from the kitchen.

According to the release, Sean told his father he had to “kill himself to get out” before attempting to stab himself in the leg. His father attempted to stop him which led David to sustain stabbing injuries to the arm and forehead.

According to online court records, Sean had a blood alcohol content of 0 at the time of his arrest. Sean has no criminal history in Boulder County.

Dougherty will host a town hall via Microsoft Teams at 1 p.m. on Tuesday regarding the officer-involved shooting investigation. Questions should be submitted in advance to boulderda@bouldercounty.gov. Attendants can join by calling 720-400-7859 or via https://bit.ly/LafayettePDOISTownHall.