(CNN) The Salt Lake City Police Department is the latest US police department to come under scrutiny after bodycam footage shows an officer shooting and killing a man, even as the man appeared to be running away. 
 
 An officer shot and killed Patrick Harmon, a 50-year-old black man, as he was being arrested on the evening of August 13. 
 
 On Wednesday, after a seven week investigation, the Salt Lake County district attorney concluded the officers' use of deadly force was justified because the officers said they feared Harmon was going to hurt them, according to a letter the district attorney sent to the Salt Lake County Sheriff and the city's police chief detailing his investigation into the incident. 
 
 Bodycam footage shows Harmon running away from police before he is shot by Salt Lake City police Officer Clinton Fox. The officers later said Harmon threatened them with a knife. 
 
 "That video is horrifying. It is just not right," Antionette Harmon, Patrick's older sister, told CNN. "I'm not understanding none of this, how it was justified or anything. It's not fair." 
 
 Harmon said her brother was bipolar, schizophrenic and possibly homeless. 
 
 Police claim Harmon had a knife 
 
 Harmon was stopped by a police officer on the evening of August 13 after he rode a bicycle across six lanes and a median, according to a narrative laid out by the district attorney, Sim Gill. Harmon was required to have a "red rear tail light on his bicycle," the officer told him. 
 
 The officer called for backup after Harmon provided "a couple different names" when he was asked for identification, according to Gill. The officers discovered felony warrants were open for Harmon's arrest -- one of which was for aggravated assault, Gill's report says. As they tried to put handcuffs on him, he ran. The officers chased after him. 
 
 In the bodycam footage, of which there are three angles for each of the officers, released by the Salt Lake City Police Department, Fox can be seen shooting Harmon three times as he runs in the opposite direction. 
 
 The officer who initially stopped Harmon, Kris Smith, fired his Taser, according to the district attorney's report. 
 
 Fox later told investigators that as Harmon was running away, he stopped and turned back toward the officers with a knife in his hand, yelling, "I'll f***ing stab you." 
 
 "Officer Fox said he feared if he didn't immediately use deadly force, Mr. Harmon was going to stab him and/or the other officers," Gill's report says. 
 
 In his investigation, Gill weighed the testimony of all three officers present -- Fox, Smith and Scott Robinson. 
 
 Smith and Robinson's accounts of what Harmon said before being shot vary slightly from Fox's. Smith told investigators he heard Harmon say, "I'm going to cut ..." the report says. Meanwhile, Robinson said he heard Harmon say, "'I stab' or something to that effect," according to the report, though he said he "couldn't remember Mr. Harmon's exact words." 
 
 Gill's report says Harmon can be seen in the bodycam video with a knife in his hand, and that investigators took photographs of the knife at the scene. 
 
 Ultimately, the district attorney's office found the shooting was a "'justified' use of deadly force," and chose not to pursue criminal charges against Fox. 
 
 NAACP investigating the shooting 
 
 Harmon's death is the latest to revive concerns into police officers' use of deadly force against black men throughout the United States, as other officer-involved shootings have done in recent years. 
 
 "Really, black people don't matter, homeless people don't matter," Antionette Harmon said. 
 
 Adriane Harmon, Antionette's daughter, described the video as "heartbreaking" and "horrifying," and vowed to seek justice on behalf of her uncle. 
 
 "I want to fight the decision," she said. "I don't believe that (DA decision) was justified. (We're) looking at attorneys now." 
 
 In a statement sent to CNN on Sunday, Jeanetta Williams, the president of the Salt Lake City chapter of the NAACP, said the organization was investigating Harmon's death. 
 
 "It seemed like more could have been done by the police officers to apprehend Mr. Patrick Harmon than shooting him in the back as he ran," Williams said, adding Harmon was simply afraid. 
 
 The statement points out the officers "were a lot younger" than Harmon, and they could have easily tackled him. "He was never given the time to heed the officers' command before they shot him," she said. 
 
 Lex Scott, founder of The United Front civil rights organization, called for police accountability. 
 
 "District Attorney Sim Gill has denied the people of Salt Lake City justice repeatedly. At this time he needs to hold police accountable or we need a new district attorney," she said. ||||| Police face no charges amid accusations of racial profiling and ‘brutal execution’ in case of Patrick Harmon, 50, who was pulled over for cycling without a light 
 
 Police in Utah fatally shot a man from behind while he was running away from officers, according to newly released footage, which has sparked accusations of racial profiling and a “brutal execution”. 
 
 Prosecutors in Salt Lake City have said officers were justified in killing Patrick Harmon, 50, who was pulled over for riding a bicycle without a light and who attempted to flee when police tried to arrest him. Police are not facing charges despite the fact that the body-camera footage captured officer Clinton Fox shouting “I’ll fucking shoot you!” from a distance before he fired three bullets into Harmon, who was running in the opposite direction. 
 
 St Louis protests: three years since Ferguson, why hasn't anything changed? Read more 
 
 “They just murdered him flat out,” Alisha Shaw, Harmon’s niece, told the Guardian on Thursday after watching the footage. “They are lying. There is no way they were threatened by anything. He was only trying to get away.” 
 
 Civil rights activists said the killing of Harmon was the latest example of police brutality and a prejudiced criminal justice system in the US, where officers kill black men at disproportionately high rates. Data has shown that across the country, black citizens and people of color are stopped by police and targeted for low-level offenses at higher rates than white residents, and some reports have suggested that police stop and cite black cyclists for minor infractions with much greater frequency than others. 
 
 Salt Lake officials have claimed that the killing of Harmon was legal because the officers feared for their lives, even though the video, released to local media, revealed that Harmon was not advancing toward them. Another officer said he fired his Taser at the same time that Fox shot Harmon. The footage showed the officers handcuffing Harmon as he lay on the ground face-down, groaning in pain. 
 
 Patrick Harmon. Photograph: Courtesy of Harmon family 
 
 The district attorney’s office claimed that Harmon said “I’ll cut you” and turned and faced officers with a knife as he was running. The video, however, raises questions about the narrative. Harmon cannot be heard making that threat and was running away from the officer, not facing him, when he was killed. 
 
 “He was scared. All he did was run,” said Adriane Harmon, another niece, who was sobbing after watching the footage for the first time Thursday. “It hurts … They said ‘I’m going to kill you’ and they shot him three times. He’s just moaning on the ground.” 
 
 At the start of the video, Harmon appeared tearful and exasperated about police attempting to arrest him. According to prosecutors, officer Kris Smith pulled him over because he saw him “ride his bicycle across all six road lanes and a median” and he didn’t have a “required red rear tail light”. The officer said he wanted to “discuss the situation” with Harmon. 
 
 The policeman eventually called for backup and determined that Harmon had an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault, according to prosecutors. Harmon appeared “emotional and distraught” and told police that he was trying to take care of his warrant, Fox testified. 
 
 Salt Lake City has previously received national praise for its “de-escalation” training, aimed at encouraging officers to communicate with people and limit confrontation and use of lethal force. The department even gives out “de-escalation awards” to recognize officers who rely on these tactics. 
 
 The death of Harmon is another reminder, activists said, that progressive policies do not stop officers from unjustly killing black Americans who do not pose a threat. 
 
 “That officer disregarded his de-escalation training,” said Lex Scott, a local Black Lives Matter organizer. “It’s just brutal. How could anyone with eyes and ears believe that that officer was justified?” 
 
 Police declined to answer questions about the case, but the chief, Mike Brown, said in a statement: “We trust the process and support the decision from district attorney Sim Gill. I believe our officers have the training and judgement and ability to make split-second decisions in dynamic situations.” 
 
 Gill added in a statement: “Officer Fox reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself and/or others and therefore his use of deadly force was ‘justified’.” 
 
 Antoinette Harmon, a 54-year-old sister, said the family grew up in St Louis, Missouri, but later moved to Utah, where they often experienced racism and prejudice. The family hadn’t seen Patrick Harmon for several years since a funeral for one of his brothers – a death that hit him hard, said Antoinette. She said her brother may have been struggling with mental illness, and the family believes he may have been homeless at one point. 
 
 “The police are going to stick together no matter if it’s wrong or right,” she added. “They don’t care about black lives.” 
 
 Police are rarely charged and almost never convicted for use of force in the US, where the law generally allows officers to use lethal force if they claim that they perceived a threat. 
 
 “He was just being profiled,” said Shaw. “Why do we have to fight so hard for justice? All we want is to be treated equal as a black person instead of being profiled and looked at as if we were a threat.” 
 
 Antionette said her brother was “goofy and fun to be around” and helped her raise her children. “He did everything he could. He was like a protector. He made sure that nobody hurt us.” 
 
 Contact the author: sam.levin@theguardian.com ||||| SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah prosecutor this week determined police were legally justified in the deadly shooting of a black man in August that was captured on body camera video, enraging anti-police brutality groups and the family of the man who was fatally shot. 
 
 While one video appears to show the victim, Patrick Harmon, 50, shot from behind as he ran from police, a slowed-down version shows he pivoted toward officers with a knife, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Friday. 
 
 Officer Clinton Fox told investigators Harmon threatened to stab him before he fired the fatal shots. Body camera video shows Fox shot Harmon at close range after Fox yells, "I'll f....ing shoot you." 
 
 Harmon's family said the video proves that he was "murdered." 
 
 "They just murdered him flat out," Alisha Shaw, Harmon's niece, told The Guardian. "They are lying. There is no way they were threatened by anything. He was only trying to get away." 
 
 Lex Scott, an organizer with Black Lives Matter in Utah, said the community is livid over the footage and wants the district attorney to resign. The Harmon family, which lives in Colorado and St. Louis, is "shell shocked," Scott said. 
 
 "You can't watch that video and not realize it is a clear case of murder," Scott said. "It is one of the clearest cases of murder we've ever seen." 
 
 African Americans make up about 2 percent of the population in Utah yet are over-represented in the criminal justice system, Scott said. 
 
 About 50 protesters rallied in front of Salt Lake City police building last weekend, including members of Harmon's family, demanding police release the footage. They did that this week after Gill's ruling. 
 
 The shooting comes amid an intense debate throughout the United States about race and policing following the fatal shooting of many black victims. 
 
 In 2014, police in Saratoga Springs, Utah, shot and killed Darrien Hunt, 22, after receiving reports of a man with a samurai sword. The Utah County attorney's office ruled the two officers involved were justified in shooting Hunt because they feared for their lives and the lives of others. 
 
 Hunt's family said the shooting was racially motivated. Hunt was black; the officers who shot him were white. He was wielding the sword as part of a Japanese anime costume. 
 
 Harmon was shot and killed on Aug. 13, after an officer saw him ride his bicycle across all six lanes of traffic and a median on a downtown Salt Lake City street. 
 
 He was stopped because he didn't have a required red rear tail light on his bicycle, according to the district attorney's report. Police say that Harmon gave "a couple" of different names and eventually they found warrants for felonies including aggravated assault. 
 
 As they put him in handcuffs, Harmon pleaded with them not to take him to jail. 
 
 The video shows a distraught-looking Harmon peacefully putting his hands behind his back, then suddenly breaking into a run. The video from Fox's body camera is difficult to decipher as the officer ran. 
 
 Fox said that as he chased him, Harmon suddenly turned and pulled out a knife and threatened to stab him. Neither that statement nor an obviously visible knife are captured on the video. But two other officers at the scene reported hearing Harmon say he would cut or stab the officers and a knife was found near Harmon's body. 
 
 "Officer Fox said he was terrified by how close Mr. Harmon was to the officers when Mr. Harmon stopped and turned toward them," the district attorney report on the shooting states. "Officer Fox said that in 10 years of law enforcement and two military deployments, it was the scariest situation he had ever been in." 
 
 The report also includes stills from the video and an image of a knife found at the scene. 
 
 Gill said that when his investigators slowed down the video, it showed that Harmon was pivoting toward the officer. 
 
 Harmon was shot on his side, and a knife was found at the scene, he said. 
 
 CBS affiliate KUTV reported that to locate the hip wound, officers cut off Harmon's pants and try to stop the blood flow and said to him several times, "Stay with us." 
 
 His office has to decide whether to file criminal charges by weighing whether the officer could reasonably fear being seriously injured or killed, Gill said. 
 
 Given the slowed-down version of video from the body camera worn by Fox and a second officer, the knife found at the scene and the relatively close distance between Harmon and Fox, Gill found that fear would have been reasonable, he said. 
 
 Gill said he didn't come to that conclusion easily. The first time he saw the video at full speed, he thought, "Oh my god, this isn't right," he said. 
 
 "These are not easy decisions. They're difficult decisions. I don't take them lightly, and this was a very trying decision," he said. 
 
 Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake branch of the NAACP, said Friday that the group will follow up with prosecutors to get more information before deciding what action to take. 
 
 "He ran, but in the video I didn't see a knife," Williams said. "I just saw him try to run and then they just shot him."
– Two months after police in Salt Lake City, Utah, shot and killed 50-year-old black man Patrick Harmon, the Salt Lake County district attorney determined Wednesday their use of deadly force was justified. Soon after, the police department released body cam footage of the shooting, sparking outrage among many in the community who believe Officer Clinton Fox shot Harmon in the back unnecessarily, CNN reports. Even District Attorney Sim Gill says when he first saw the video he thought, "Oh my god, this isn't right," CBS News reports. But after slowing the video down Gill says one could see Harmon pivoting toward the officers. Since Harmon was shot in the side, and since a knife police claim Harmon was holding was found at the scene, Gill determined the officers feared for their safety. Members of Harmon's family say they see things differently, especially after viewing the footage Thursday. They say Harmon, who had been pulled over by the officers after riding his bicycle across six lanes of traffic without a red tail light on Aug. 13, was bipolar and schizophrenic. One of Harmon's nieces, Alisha Shaw, told the Guardian, "They just murdered him flat-out." The Salt Lake City Police Department had received praise before the shooting for its implementation of de-escalation training, which had resulted in more than two-and-a-half years without a fatal officer-involved shooting in the city. But, according to a local Black Lives Matter activist, that training failed Patrick Harmon. “That officer disregarded his de-escalation training,” Lex Scott says. “How could anyone with eyes and ears believe that that officer was justified?”