A former Greeley police officer has been cleared of criminal charges and was justified in the use of deadly force, according to the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.

The shooting happened on Nov. 8 in the Meadow Village Mobile Home Park, 100 block of East 20th Street, according to a review of the police shooting and court documents.

“The Weld County Statutory Grand Jury has concluded its investigation and determined that the former officer’s actions were justified and issued a no true bill, meaning there was not probable cause to believe a crime was committed,” the DA’s office said in a Thursday news release.

Officer Seth Luedtke shot Benjamin Weise, who was armed with a knife, according to the grand jury report.

Weise, who was wanted on an arrest warrant, had crawled under a trailer and refused to come out, the report said. Police were on scene for about three hours and deployed pepper balls in an attempt to get Weise to come out from under the trailer. When Weise did emerge, he was armed with a knife. Weise was ordered to drop the weapon but didn’t comply. Luedtke fired a less lethal, 40 mm round, at Weise but it was ineffective.

Luedtke eventually used his “firearm,” firing seven shots, according to the report, hitting Weise in the head and upper body as Weise was emerging from a hiding spot, armed with a knife, near a cluttered shed that Weise had been using as a living space.

“Fearing for his safety and the safety of other officers, Luedtke shot Weise,” the report said. “Officers were four to six feet from Weise when he appeared from the opening armed and refused to drop the knife.

“When applying the facts as set forth…there was no probable cause” that Luedtke committed a crime, according to the report, which was signed on March 10.

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