The interim Maricopa County attorney won’t prosecute a Chandler police officer who killed an armed teenager by shooting him in the back. 

Rachel Mitchell announced the decision at a news conference Thursday, nearly a year and a half after the fatal encounter, which followed a vehicle pursuit and foot chase in a park at night. 

“I have reviewed the body camera many times. And I can understand why people would question the reasonableness of the second shot,” she said.

But Mitchell also said the Chandler Officer Chase Bebak-Miller's actions after firing the second shot support his claim that he did not know Anthony Cano had thrown away his gun. She concluded that the officer did not break the law.

Mitchell is seeking the Republican nomination to run to be county attorney through 2024.

The encounter began Jan. 2, 2021, around 9:20 p.m. when Bebak-Miller noticed Cano riding a bicycle without a front headlight near Gazelle Meadows Park, police said.