Three Des Moines police officers were justified in fatally shooting an armed woman earlier this year, a grand jury decided Tuesday.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone confirmed that the grand jury decided late Tuesday to not indict senior police officers Brian Buck, Brandon Holtan and Brady Pratt in connection with the July 5 shooting death of Tiffany Lynn Potter, 29.

Holtan, who fired the fatal gunshots, remained on an administrative assignment Wednesday, pending an ongoing internal police department review of the shooting, Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said.

Buck and Pratt have returned to work with regular assignments, Parizek said. Initially, all three officers were placed on leave pending internal review of the shooting.

Holtan fatally shot Potter after she stopped her car at about 2 a.m. at an apparently random East 14th Street home when the three officers' squad car started following her, police said. Potter ran from her car and fired a gunshot before the officer fired back.

The officers were not hurt.

The officers were working for the police department's specialized Summer Enforcement Team at the time of the shooting, police said.

Buck was hired by the police department in October 2010, Holtan was hired in August 2012; and Pratt was hired August 2013.

Authorities have not said why the three officers initially started following Potter's car, but a police spokesman clarified that it was not a high-speed chase.

Court records show that upon searching Potter's car after her death, investigators found drugs and drug paraphernalia, including methamphetamine, marijuana, Ecstasy, pipes, a scale, syringes and plastic baggies. They also found numerous "miscellaneous cellphones" in the car, records show.

Potter's past criminal record includes convictions for drug offenses and assault.

At a vigil shortly after Potter's death, her family members said she struggled with drug addiction for her entire life.

In Potter's obituary, her mother urged anyone struggling with addiction to seek help. Iowa's Drug and Alcohol Help Line, 866-242-4111, was listed in the obituary.

A Des Moines police investigator who reviewed the shooting described, in court records, the moments before Potter was killed:

The three-officer squad car began to follow a Chevorlet Tahoe, driven by Potter. She started to flee, turning into the driveway of a home in the 1600 block of East 14th Street. Potter did not live at the home and had no prior connection to it, police said.

After stopping in the driveway, Potter got out of the car and ran around the house. The officers chased after her, with one running around the north side of the home and a second officer running around the south side.

When the second officer met Potter, she pulled out a gun "and fired at least one round, then ran back to the north behind several parked cars, where she was shot by the first officer," the investigator wrote.

After Potter was shot, the officers began to administer first aid and called medics. The officers found a small, 5-shot .22 revolver under her body.

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