Officials will announce Tuesday whether state troopers were justified in fatally shooting Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, a leader of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation.

Finicum, 54, was killed as police tried to arrest key figures in the refuge takeover. His death on Jan. 26 spurred claims that police acted without provocation, with some labeling his death a murder. The FBI has said Finicum was shot after he tried to elude police and reached for a gun.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office investigated the shooting, recently turning over results to Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris. He was asked to oversee the investigation by Tim Colahan, Harney County district attorney, to provide an independent assessment. The shooting occurred in Harney County.

A news conference is scheduled Tuesday in Bend to release the results of the investigation. The sheriff's office hasn't released the time and place publicly, asking media to send an email to the office to attend.

The announcement is expected to provide more details about what happened in the operation conducted jointly by the FBI and the Oregon State Police.

The FBI already has issued one statement and an aerial video without audio of the confrontation. It shows officers approaching Finicum and his collapse in the snow. Finicum was carrying a loaded 9mm handgun, the FBI said.

Two witnesses involved in the police stop contested some points in the FBI description of what happened. Finicum's family has said his death wasn't justified. Finicum ranched and cared for foster children on his ranch outside Colorado City, Arizona.

His widow, Jeanette, has scheduled her own news conference in St. George, Utah, for Tuesday afternoon.

The shooting occurred as a Jeep and truck carrying occupation leaders drove north on U.S. 395 to a community meeting in John Day. About 20 miles outside Burns, police stopped the Jeep carrying Ammon E. Bundy, 40, of Emmett, Idaho. Bundy was the main leader of protesters who seized the wildlife refuge headquarters three weeks earlier. Also in the Jeep were Bundy's bodyguard, Brian D. Cavalier, 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada; and the driver, Mark C. McConnell , 37, of Buckeye, Arizona.

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum talks to media during a press conference Jan. 12, 2016. Thomas Boyd/Staff

Police also stopped the pickup driven by Finicum and carrying Ryan C. Bundy, 43, of Bunkerville, Nevada; Ryan W. Payne, 32, of Anaconda, Montana; Shawna J. Cox, 59, of Kanab, Utah; and Victoria Sharp, 18, of Lakeside, Montana. Ryan Bundy is Ammon Bundy's older brother.

The three in the Jeep surrendered to police as did Ryan Payne. The FBI video showed that Finicum then sped away from the traffic stop, crashing into a snow bank after encountering a police roadblock. The FBI later said he was shot by state troopers when he reached into his jacket for the handgun.

The Bundy brothers, Payne, Cavalier and Cox all were arrested on a federal conspiracy charge. McConnell and Sharp were released without charges. Sharp has since appeared regularly at rallies and other events in honor of Finicum and has spoken out against federal authorities. McConnell returned to Arizona and has continued to participate in a self-described patriot group, according to a recent Facebook post.

McConnell, Sharp and Cox all have recorded their own accounts of the traffic stop, which have been widely shared on social media. Cox also detailed the events of that afternoon in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Initial claims by witnesses that Finicum was shot while he was surrendering with his hands up spurred virulent reaction in social media posts. Sharp has said Finicum was shot repeatedly and that more than 100 rounds were fired into the truck where she and the others were cowering. FBI officials have said officers fired flash-bang devices and sponge projectiles with pepper spray capsules at the truck.

Law enforcement officials have yet to release autopsy findings on Finicum's death. His family said it commissioned a subsequent private autopsy but hasn't released the results.

-- Les Zaitz