Albany County Sheriff’s Deputies fatally shot 48-year-old Colorado resident John Alan Britton as he charged toward them with a knife at Snowy Range Ski Area on Sunday.

According to a press release, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office was trying to find Britton on Sunday after his friends said he might be suicidal.  After an extensive search, deputies located Britton seated in his truck parked in the ski area’s upper parking lot.  Britton refused to cooperate when deputies made contact.

Deputies put the ski area on lockdown and had Centennial Fire Department EMS on standby near the entrance.

Albany County Sheriff David O’Malley says Britton eventually got out of his truck and approached deputies with a hunting knife, getting within 15 yards.

Deputies tried to resolve the situation peacefully, but Britton refused to drop the knife, and suddenly charged the officers.

Deputies fired their weapons, striking Britton.  The Sheriff’s Office says life-saving measures were attempted by deputies, but Britton died at the scene.

An autopsy was scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday morning.

Sheriff O’Malley asked the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate the officer-involved shooting, and a team of DCI investigators were at the scene until Monday afternoon.  A final report will be delivered to the Albany County Attorney upon conclusion of the investigation.

Four Albany County Sheriff’s Deputies–Matt Donnell, Edward Rosier, Aaron Gallegos, and Adam Dean–were placed on administrative leave pending the result of the investigation.

“It’s one of those things that you come to work every day knowing can happen and go to work every day hoping that it never does,” says Sheriff O’Malley.

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