NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi found Norfolk police officers were "justified" in shooting and killing Santonio Lee in 2024.
Body camera video, shown for the first time Monday, shows what Fatehi said is Norfolk police officers shooting back after being shot at on March 21, 2024 by Santonio Lee.
He said one officer "fearing for his life and with no time even to get out of his car" returned fire. Two other officers returned fire as well, Fatehi added.
In one video, one of the officers can be seen shooting from inside his police car through his windshield at Lee.
The videos were part of a roughly hour-long presentation Fatehi held Monday to discuss his findings.
A woman claiming to be a family member of Lee's was outside the Commonwealth's Attorney building after the presentation and expressed frustration and disagreement with the findings. She declined to do an interview with News 3.
“They had it in their minds the whole time what they were going to do with him. Nobody’s perfect, but you don’t judge and take somebody’s life like that," the woman said.
The shooting was one of three fatal shootings by police in the city in the first five months of the year.
Watch: Man in hospital after shootout with Norfolk Police officers, chief says
Fatehi said because of the position of the officers who shot Lee, Lee can only be heard, not seen, shooting at officers. But other evidence along with the audio, Fatehi explained, prove Lee shot at officers first.
“The police did what the law not only what the law entitled them to do but what the law required them to do to protect us and for that reason I’m grateful for what they did," said Fatehi.
News 3 reported on the deadly shooting when it happened. Police said officers were attempting to serve Lee with a warrant for a shooting that had happened a couple weeks prior. They said after leading them on a chase down Terminal Boulevard, the car Lee was driving crashed into a ditch.
Watch: No charges brought against Norfolk police officers involved in deadly 2022 shooting
During his presentation Monday, Fatehi showed video from a camera that overlooks the intersection of of Hampton Blvd. and Terminal Blvd. In the video, Fatehi said, the car Lee was driving can be seen turning left onto Terminal Blvd., nearly hitting other cars on the road.
Fatehi explained a Norfolk police car involved in the chase hit Lee's car twice on Terminal Blvd. in an effort to stop him. After the second hit, the video shows, Lee crashes into a ditch on the side of the road.
“He was trying his best, and I know he was trying his best," Lee's daughter, Paris, said in an interview with News 3 in April 2024.
Watch: 'He was a good dad:' Family of man shot, killed by Norfolk police demand answers
At the time of the interview, the family was still searching for answers.
She said her father, who had gotten out of prison in January, had just visited her at school a few hours before he was shot.
“He just told me to stay out of trouble and he loved me," Paris said.
Lee was hit multiple times. Footage from the body-worn cameras show when Lee dropped the gun, officers stopped firing shots, Fatehi said. He went on to explain the video then shows officers giving Lee first aid before paramedics arrived.
Fatehi added an autopsy showed Santonio had a large amount of meth in his system when he was shot. Regardless of the circumstances, Fatehi said this situation is tragic.
“I feel pretty confident that if Mr. Lee had been straight that day he would still be here, and I wish that he were," said Fatehi.
