No criminal charges will be filed against two Fairview Police officers who shot and killed a man holding a knife after officers burst into his apartment.

Chase Sullivan, 36, of Fairview, died as the result of gunshots fired by two police officers responding to a welfare check on the night of Aug. 31.

At the request of District Attorney General Kim Helper, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the shooting.

Helper recently confirmed that the grand jury reviewed the TBI findings during their Nov. 5 session.

"The grand jury did not find that any criminal charges were warranted in this matter,” Helper said.

Sullivan's family was shocked.

“This turned out horribly wrong," said Rebecca Winners, Sullivan’s aunt. "This was not supposed to happen. It was a welfare check. That’s all that it was, and it was totally mismanaged. And I want these cops, these police officers to be held accountable.”

Fatal shooting started as welfare check

Shortly after 8 p.m. Aug. 31, Winners, who had received an alarming text from Sullivan, first called his mother to check on him. When Winners suggested calling 911, his mother agreed. “We both just wanted to get him some help, not killed,” said Winners.

“I called 911 and explained the situation. He suffered from depression. They asked if he was combative, and I told them I didn’t think so because he just took a sedative,” Winners said.

When police officers, firefighters and medics arrived on the scene at the Legacy Apartments in Fairview, Sullivan would not answer the door.

“A neighbor offered to try and talk with him, but they had firemen bust down the door and had their guns drawn,” said Winners.

Two police officers, Jamey Meadows and Jordan Whaley, entered the apartment and saw Sullivan with a knife in his hand, according to initial reports.

The officers ordered Sullivan to drop the weapon, and Sullivan didn't do it. When the situation escalated, the two officers fired several times, striking Sullivan.

“They have Tazers, but they chose not to use them. They already had their guns drawn, and he (Sullivan) was not expecting anyone to come busting through the door. He didn’t know I had called 911,” Winners said. “It was dark in the apartment, and he was probably confused when he heard the noise.”

Sullivan was shot three times with wounds to his arm, leg, chest and back, according to the autopsy report.

“That is not how you handle the situation. They were supposed to de-escalate the situation, but they escalated it,” said Winners.

Though first responders administered CPR immediately, Sullivan died at the scene.

Winners said Sullivan had struggled with depression for many years, and his recent bout with depression was the result of her sister’s death 17 months earlier.

Body cam footage not available

Winners said she was informed by the TBI that video footage from one officer’s body camera was “corrupted” while the second officer's body cam was charging in his patrol car.

Winners said she has requested the TBI send the corrupted video footage to an expert for forensic analysis.

“Why is the department sending officers out who are not prepared? His body cam should have been charged, and there is a crisis intervention training program. They are using it in Franklin, Knoxville and other cities. Why is Fairview not using it?”

She wants someone to be held accountable for her nephew’s death.

“I‘ve been having a very difficult time with this. The only way I am going to heal is to get justice. All I care about is getting justice, so that this does not happen to anyone else,” said Winners.

The TBI said the final investigative report on the shooting will not be released until they receive a case closure request from the District Attorney General.

Meadows, a 3-year member of the department, and Whaley, with the department for one year, have both been cleared and are back at work, according to Fairview Police Chief Zach Humphreys.

Humphreys declined to comment on the department's training and protocol as it relates to crisis intervention or deescalating such a situation due to a potential civil case.