Victor Coleman, a 53-year-old construction worker from Bakersfield, California, died on April 28, 2014, while staying at the Sunset Inn in Oroville for work. Oroville police responded to a welfare check after his wife, Lori Coryell, reported he was agitated and possibly suicidal. Officers found Coleman locked in his motel room, forced entry after about two hours, and say he charged at them with a Wild Turkey bourbon bottle in one hand and a knife in the other. The officers shot Coleman 16 times, and he died at the scene.

A multiagency Officer Involved Shooting/Critical Incident Team investigated. At an October 1 press conference, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey and Oroville Police Chief Bill LaGrone declared the officers’ actions justified, saying Coleman posed an imminent threat. Coleman’s parents, Hershel and Laura Coleman, dispute that account, asserting their son was unarmed and sitting when the officers entered and that the downward angle of the shots supports their claim. The family has sought further probes and access to officers’ statements, reports, transcripts and photos, and filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Justice.

What additional information might help clarify the differing accounts in this case?