COEUR d'ALENE - Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall announced Monday that the use of force by officers involved in a June shootout on Interstate 90 was justified.

Four local law enforcement agencies were involved in the gun battle with Marcus Rael, which prompted Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh to ask the Bonner County Sheriff's Office to investigate the incident and Marshall to review its findings.

"An analysis under Idaho's justifiable homicide statute results in the conclusion that the officers' actions were justified," Marshall wrote. "All shots were fired at Rael to stop the threat he was posing by firing on officers. All shots were reasonably necessary to overcome Rael's resistance to his arrest and officer's lawful commands to surrender himself."

Rael, 24, was stopped by a Coeur d'Alene police officer on Sherman Avenue for two moving violations. When the Glendale, Ariz., native pulled over, he allegedly threw the burnt end of a marijuana joint out the window. The officer attempted to first conduct a field sobriety test and when Rael allegedly refused, he then attempted to arrest the man for driving under the influence.

Rael instead drove away and the subsequent pursuit ended in Post Falls when he allegedly crashed his Nissan Titan truck near a police roadblock. According to Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler, whose office is investigating the incident, Rael took a position between his truck and a barrier on the interstate and began firing two assault weapons at responding officers.

In the ensuing gun battle, six Coeur d'Alene police officers, three Post Falls police officers, two Kootenai County Sheriff's deputies and an Idaho State Police trooper exchanged gunfire with Rael.

In his letter to McHugh, Marshall wrote that he examined four factors when determining whether officers were justified in their use of force. Those factors included the legality of the initial attempt to pull over and arrest Rael, the legality of the following pursuit, whether or not Rael fired first, and if every officer who returned fire was justified in doing so.

"All the officers stated they felt fear for themselves or other officers and the public," Marshall wrote. "All the officers stated they continued to fire as long as they saw and heard Rael firing upon them, firing until they were able to stop the threat of incoming fire. They stopped firing within seconds of when Rael did."

No officers were injured in the shootout. Rael was shot four times during the incident and suffered injuries to his legs and torso.

Rael was charged with 12 counts of assault with the intent to commit a serious felony. He is scheduled for a jury trial on March 31 in Kootenai County District Court.