The Iowa State Patrol trooper who shot and killed a Carroll man on April 29 was justified, according to a review of the incident by the Webster County attorney’s office that was released Friday evening.

The attorney’s office concluded that Trooper Justin Parman “reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to defend himself or another from the imminent use of illegal unlawful force on himself or another.”

Parman killed Joshua Ewing, 26, after Ewing held a woman hostage at gunpoint on a rural Webster County road and later fired multiple rounds at Parman, according to the report.

On the morning of the shooting, Ewing was being driven around rural Webster County by a woman.

Ewing had been hearing voices for the past year, according to the report.

Once on Carter Avenue, a few miles west of Moorland, Ewing began firing a gun at the voices he was hearing in the car, the county attorney’s office reported. The bullets hit the seats and trunk area.

The woman stopped the car, got out, and ran into a nearby field.

Ewing reportedly continued to fire shots inside the vehicle. He fired 11 rounds, investigators determined.

He then ran after the woman. Once he found her, he dragged her back toward the vehicle in a ditch.

A nearby homeowner noticed the car facing southbound with the trunk open.

The homeowner contacted Parman, who was off duty at the time and dressed in plain clothes. Parman, who has been with the Iowa State Patrol for 13 years, got into his ISP marked patrol car and drove to Carter Avenue. He responded to assist a motorist, according to the county attorney’s report. He was armed with his personal 9mm handgun.

While driving past the vehicle, he saw Ewing and the woman in what appeared to be an altercation.

He turned the car around and parked behind the vehicle Ewing had been riding in.

When Parman got out of his car, Ewing ran to his vehicle and grabbed a .38 special revolver. Parman saw Ewing grab the woman and hold her hostage at gunpoint, according to the county attorney’s office.

At that time, Parman drew his handgun.

Ewing forced the woman to walk in front of him toward Parman. As Ewing got closer, Parman retreated to the trunk of his car. Once there, Parman put his handgun in the trunk and replaced it with a rifle.

Ewing circled around Parman’s car, while Parman circled on the opposite side of the car.

When Ewing reached the trunk area of Parman’s car, he took Parman’s 9mm handgun and continued to circle the car, still holding the woman hostage.

After making a complete circle around the car, Ewing fired at least four times at Parman, the county attorney’s office reported. Parman was not hit by any of the shots.

When Ewing reached the rear of the patrol car for a second time, he tripped causing Ewing and the woman to separate. Parman responded by moving to the back of his patrol car. With Ewing in sight, Parman fired his rifle at Ewing.

He fired until Ewing dropped his weapons. Ewing died at the scene.

“Trooper Justin Parman was clearly justified in the use of reasonable force, including deadly force, in that he reasonably believed that such force was necessary to defend himself or another from an actual or imminent use of unlawful force by Joshua L. Ewing, in accordance with Iowa Code 704.3,” The Webster County attorney’s office issued in a written statement.

The Webster County attorney’s office was assisted in its review by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, eye witness interviews, video and audio recordings, dispatch calls, crime scene photographs, crime scene renderings, and reports rfom the Iowa DCI Criminalistics Laboratory. The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s office conducted an autopsy on Ewing and provided information to the DCI investigative team.