CHANHASSEN, Minn. - On Thursday morning, Carver County Attorney, Mark Metz, met with the family of 16-year-old Archer Amorosi and told them that there would be no charges filed against the Carver County Deputies who shot and killed him during an incident in July.
"It, unfortunately, was what we expected," said Archer's father, Don Amorosi. "But it was a surprise to us that (Metz) would not share with us, the report. We asked questions which he would not answer. He was scripted and he stayed on script."
Following the meeting with the family, Metz spoke to KARE 11 and discussed the BCA investigation into the shooting and his decision not to charge the officers. He said the shooting was justified because Archer Amorosi had threatened to kill them, and charged at them with a hatchet and BB gun pistol.
"This is a horribly tragic incident. It's heartbreaking," Metz said. "You don't want somebody's life to be taken. But the officers weren't left with any other alternative at that moment."
Don Amorosi said he, and his lawyers, are considering whether to file a civil lawsuit but he says they still want to look at all the evidence.
"I saw, it looked like, a dozen grown men, armed like Navy Seals. I have a hard time thinking that a kid that was wearing a pair of shorts, no shoes, no shirt... would pose that kind of threat." he said. "I would never want to see a law enforcement officer sacrifice their life, but still, they've signed up, in my opinion, for a little bit higher standard."
Despite those final moments, Don Amorosi says his son's death could have been avoided long before the shooting. He says he still struggles to understand how multiple calls to a crisis center and a previous visit by Carver County Deputies, didn't do more to prevent things before they escalated.
"Those last few moments didn't need to happen," he said. "They didn't listen. The crisis line didn't listen. The Sheriff's deputies didn't listen; the day before they didn't listen, the day of the didn't listen and then they hurried."
Despite his frustration, he says he now wants to work to improve services and communication surrounding mental health emergencies to ensure the same doesn't happen to another family.
"Until our society decides that this is a priority, that we do need to fix these issues, I don't think we can expect much different," Don Amorosi said. "I think, if we can limit the stigmatization around this and come to a different level of understanding, it will solve a lot of our problems.
"It's okay to recognize that (Archer) had mental illness, and I don't care if he's remembered that way. There's nothing wrong with that," he said. "But I would want him to be remembered as someone who, in spite of that, battled through it and created a lot of good and joy for a heck of a lot of people."