A review of a police shooting in May near Port Orchard has determined that officers Chris Faidley and Paul Woodrum acted in a “lawful, justifiable and necessary” manner in shooting 72-year-old Fred E. Sowell during a pursuit.

A statement from prosecuting attorney Tina Robinson released Tuesday afternoon said an investigation conducted by local law enforcement agencies, led by the Washington State Patrol, found Faidley and Woodrum, of the Bremerton Police Department and the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, respectively, acted in accordance with state law in shooting Sowell, who survived with serious injuries.

On May 15, Sowell allegedly pointed a handgun at officers after exiting his SUV following a lengthy pursuit, according to police reports from the incident.

A joint statement issued Tuesday from the Bremerton Police Department and the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office states that “the officers fired their weapons at Mr. Sowell in response to the suspect’s deadly force actions.”

“The use of deadly force is justifiable when necessarily used by a peace officer to arrest or apprehend a person who has committed a felony,” Robinson stated, “if the officer has probable cause to believe that if not apprehended, the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm to the officer, or a threat of serious physical harm to others.”

The investigation was conducted by the Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team, a consortium of local law enforcement agencies.