BENTONVILLE -- Three police officers acted justifiably when they fatally shot a man who ran at them with a knife, according to Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith.
Smith cleared the officers Thursday of any wrongdoing in Brian Williams' death.
"I think it is unmistakable that in this shooting as well as any other shooting that no police officer wants to have to kill a person, especially a man married with children," Smith said. "This is a terrible, tragic thing that occurred, and yet they were faced with a situation where there was no other outcome than to shoot in their own self-defense, and they did that here."
Williams, 37, was shot 10 times Sunday by the three officers, who answered a call at 3:15 a.m. about a disturbance at 720 N.W. Sixth St. He died at Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville.
The officers -- Sgt. Brent Farrar, Kyle Putnam and Tyler Sharp -- were placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting. The Arkansas State Police is handling the investigation.
Williams' wife contacted her husband's parents because she was concerned about his state of mind, Smith said.
Williams' mother told police that she and her husband went to the house to calm the situation but got into a fight, which resulted in her son causing significant injuries to her husband, Smith said.
She said her son had some recent difficulty at work, and she was concerned about his mental state, Smith said. She told police they took her son's guns away several weeks ago, but he had knives in the house, Smith said.
Smith said police knocked on the doors and windows for 12 minutes and tried to get into the house to prevent Williams from harming himself or his wife and two children, who were inside.
Smith said Williams' mother gave the officers the code to the front door.
One of the officers punched in the code, pushed the barricaded door open and ordered Williams to step outside, Smith said.
The video shows Williams running outside holding a kitchen knife. The officers can be heard yelling for Williams to drop the knife before firing their weapons.
Police found Williams' wife and two children in the house unharmed, Smith said. Williams' father was taken to the hospital and has been released, Smith said.
"It should be noted that Mrs. Williams was clear that her husband was a good man and that his mental state and behavior on the night of the shooting was both out of character and unprecedented," Smith said.
Williams didn't have a criminal history, Smith said.
Police Chief Jon Simpson said he's planning on the officers returning to work early next week. Critical incident counseling is planned when the three return, he said.
Smith didn't know whether Williams was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He is waiting on toxicology reports from the state Crime Laboratory and on the state police to finalize its investigation.
"I believe it is in the interest of justice to render my conclusion on the shooting now since the video evidence is dispositive," Smith said. "Delaying for several weeks as the reports are finalized would only serve to prolong this unnecessarily for the officers and the family of Mr. Williams."
City officers began wearing body cameras a few weeks ago. Cameras were issued to patrol division officers and can be integrated with the car dash cameras.