DENVER – An attorney for the family of a 17-year-old girl who was fatally shot by Denver police while driving a stolen car protested the district attorney’s decision not to charge the officers who he says used deadly force as a first resort.

Qusair Mohamedbhai says Jessica Hernandez’s family is disappointed but not surprised by Friday’s announcement that the two officers who shot her won’t face charges.

The officers shot Hernandez on Jan. 26 after she drove a stolen Honda Civic toward them in a residential alley. Neither officer was hit, but District Attorney Mitch Morrissey says they were justified because Hernandez drove dangerously close to them.

Morrissey says Hernandez could have prevented the shooting by following orders.

The Jan. 26 shooting sparked angry protests and came after racially charged killings by police elsewhere. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado renewed calls for an independent review of Hernandez’s shooting, claiming that Morrissey’s work with police as a prosecutor constituted a conflict of interest.

It also was the fourth time in seven months that Denver officers fired into a moving vehicle, and the department said in a statement that it continues to review its policies related to that practice.

The officers are now on desk duty. The department said it will start its internal probe of the shooting now that Morrissey has made his decision.

The officers told investigators they were investigating a report of a suspicious vehicle and that they shot Hernandez after she drove a stolen Honda Civic toward them in a residential alley. Four other teens were in the car, sleeping after a night out. None was injured.

Greene had pulled up behind the Honda, and Jordan pulled up in front. They both drew their weapons and ordered the teens out of the car. Instead, Hernandez slowly backed into Greene’s patrol car, then drove slowly toward Jordan, according to the officers’ accounts contained in Morrissey’s letter.

Hernandez reversed again, hit a fence and then accelerated forward toward Jordan, who said the car was so close he pushed it with his hand. From the driver’s side, the officers fired eight shots into the Honda, hitting Hernandez three times.

Photos from the scene showed the car with bullet holes in the driver’s side window and windshield.

“This begs the question of why Hernandez chose to not comply with those orders,” Morrissey wrote. “Perhaps she feared being caught driving a stolen car. Perhaps her judgment was impaired by marijuana and alcohol. ... What is clear from the facts and needs no inference is that her decisions created a very dangerous situation, not just to herself and to the officers, but also to her friends who were in the car with her.”

An autopsy report showed Hernandez had marijuana and a small amount of alcohol in her system. Investigators found open bottles of alcohol and a marijuana pipe in the car.