A state trooper was justified in shooting and killing a mentally ill man who charged him with a knife before walking toward a busy road near the Salem airport last month, a Marion County grand jury concluded. Matthew W. Wong, 22, died after the trooper shot him twice on Feb. 27 outside the Nation al Guard Air Station off Turner Road, according to a Friday news release from the office of Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson. Grand jurors heard testimony from six witnesses including the Salem Police Department, which led the investigation. They also reviewed evidence including videos, photographs, scene diagrams and autopsy conclusions. The news release included an edited version of footage captured by Oregon State Police Trooper Justin Oxenrider’s body-worn camera. Video: WARNING – Graphic image: Police shooting in southeast Salem The body camera video shows Wong lunge at Oxenrider while armed with a knife. The trooper twice tried to use a Taser against Wong but was unsuccessful, according to the statement. Seconds later, the video shows Oxenrider shoot Wong twice from behind as he walks away from the trooper with the knife in hand. Two bullets struck Wong, one entering his right arm and the other his back, according to the statement. Both bullets went through his chest. The grand jury concluded that “all reasonable alternatives, such as verbal de-escalation, waiting, or using other available techniques or resources weren’t feasible as Senior Trooper Oxenrider had provided Wong with verbal and visual warnings, attempted less-than-lethal tools unsuccessfully twice, and provided him with a reasonable opportunity to comply,” according to the statement. “It is tragic that Mr. Wong was experiencing mental health struggles, and this case highlights the dangerous outcomes for our neighbors, our law enforcement officers and our community when such issues go unaddressed,” Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson wrote in the statement. “Senior Trooper Oxenrider was faced with an untenable situation not of his own creation. I know that no one wanted this outcome on that day.” The district attorney’s office gave an account of the shooting. State police received a call reporting attempted robbery at the guard station around 10 a.m. on Feb. 27. The district attorney’s office previously said Wong had slipped a threatening note to a guard outside the U.S. Army airfield in southeast Salem February 27 before Oxenrider responded to the scene. A picture of the note included in the statement Friday showed it included a threat to “kill everybody at this house,” unless they surrendered every weapon, placed it in a vehicle and left it running outside of the facility. The note said the recipient had 10 minutes to decide. Wong was sitting on a bench at the facility when Oxenrider stepped out of his vehicle, the video showed. The officer tried to stop Wong from leaving by stepping in front of him and asked Wong to remove his hands from his pockets. The trooper twice tried to use a Taser but did not hit Wong, “exhausting the tool,” according to the statement. Wong then charged him with a knife.  A knife police said belong to Matthew W. Wong. (Marion County District Attorney’s Office) Video appears to show the trooper drop the Taser as the two are engaged in a brief physical struggle.  The officer several times shouted at Wong to put the knife down.  Wong then turned around and walked toward an area of Turner Road, which has “multiple businesses, and is a busy, well-traveled thoroughfare,” prosecutors said in the statement. “Furthermore, the location often has pedestrians walking or riding bikes on the sidewalks. There is also a homeless camp near the guard station, and numerous individuals regularly come and go from that location.” Oxenrider testified before the grand jury that he was not going to let Wong leave the area “because he believed that Wong was a threat to anyone in the immediate area and for the public at large,” according to the statement. “He testified that he saw Wong turn back in his direction with the knife in his hand in what he felt was an aggressive manner. “ Video shows Wong continuing to walk away from Oxenrider when the officer twice shot him from behind. Oxenrider shot Wong less than 40 seconds after exiting his vehicle at the scene, according to the footage. Wong died from his injuries at the scene. At the time of the shooting Wong had an active warrant for his arrest related to a criminal charge for unlawful use of a weapon.Wong had been arrested twice but not convicted. The Salem Police Department led the investigation into the shooting due to a Marion County policy which requires a police agency not involved in a fatal police shooting to investigate it. RELATED COVERAGE: Man killed by trooper slipped threatening note to guard at Salem’s Army training center, police say State trooper shoots, kills person near Salem airport Thursday morning Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: madeleine@salemreporter.com. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Trooper justified in deadly shooting of man near Salem airport, grand jury finds appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less