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Six Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies mistook a black flashlight a man appeared to be pointing at civilians for a handgun when they fired at him more than a dozen times, killing him, last month.

At a news conference Monday morning, Chief Deputy Nicholas Huffmyer showed video of Colby Atkins standing outside of a car following a pursuit. Atkins, 45, appeared to be reaching for something and then stretched out his arms at a passing van, causing the van to back up.

“He comes up with both hands in a very clear shooting platform,” Huffmyer said. “I mean, if there’s anyone that would recognize what a shooting platform is, it’s law enforcement … So I’m not surprised in the slightest that they recognized that and saw that as a threat.”

Atkins died at the scene. His family could not immediately be reached on Monday, but an obituary says he was born in Oklahoma and is survived by his three daughters, father and siblings.

The deputies who fired were: Sgt. Luke Edwards, who has been with BCSO for 14 years and had been involved in one other shooting; Deputy Derek Gallegos, who was hired four years ago and had been involved in one other shooting; Deputy Jose Corona, who was hired four years ago; Deputy Dominic Szabo, who was hired three years ago; Deputy Richard Boyle, who was hired two years ago, and Deputy Deanna Aragon who was hired one year ago.

All are back at work. The Multi-Agency Task Force and an internal investigation into the incident is still underway.