ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – A week after thousands mourned the killing of an undercover police officer, the city was stunned by news that he was drunk when he confronted two men outside a bar.

The blood-alcohol level of Sgt. Gerald Vick was 0.20 percent at the time of his death – above the state’s legal driving limit of 0.10 percent.

Vick was part of the department’s vice squad, and Police Chief John Harrington said consuming alcohol is “a necessary part” of the job for officers working vice. But he said department policy prohibits drinking to intoxication.

Vick, 41, was shot and killed May 6. Harry Jerome Evans, 32, was charged with first-degree murder and a second man, Antonio Alexander Kelly, 27, was in custody as a material witness.

Vick’s death prompted an outpouring of grief and sympathy. Harrington described him as “one of the great heroes” of the city. Makeshift memorials went up. The funeral was carried live on local television.

On Friday, just two days after hundreds of officers joined about 2,000 mourners, Harrington called a news conference to defend Vick after the officer’s blood-alcohol content was made public.

“He worked incredibly hard at keeping the streets safe,” Harrington said.

According to a criminal complaint, Vick and his partner, Sgt. Joe Strong, were working undercover near a St. Paul bar when they had an argument with Evans and Kelly. Kelly told investigators he was urinating on a wall behind the bar when Vick and Strong told him to stop.

The men separated, but got into another confrontation a few minutes later. Vick was shot after a brief foot chase in a dark alley. He did not fire his weapon. Strong fired and missed several times.

Strong was not drunk, Harrington said. Strong had a blood-alcohol level of 0.013, far below the legal driving limit.

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said she knew of Vick’s blood-alcohol content when she prepared the charges against Evans, though his intoxication wasn’t made public until days later.

It made no difference in her decision to pursue a first-degree murder charge, she said, adding that she has enough evidence to prove the charge.

“All of us are flawed human beings,” Gaertner said. “All of us make mistakes. That doesn’t give anyone a right to gun down any one of us.”

Gaertner said she expects Vick’s blood-alcohol level to come up in the case. Gill said the fact will be “significant” in Evans’ defense.

Evans’ public defender, David Gill, said the toxicology results should have been disclosed sooner.

“We’ve had about five days of very emotional news coverage, in which Sgt. Vick has been portrayed as a hero, and yet we have a very significant fact in this case that has been withheld,” he said.

Bill Gillespie, a former St. Paul police officer who heads the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said drinking helps undercover police officers blend into their surroundings. That doesn’t diminish Vick’s actions, he said.

“People were complaining about two fools outside the bar,” Gillespie said. “Gerry went outside and he didn’t do well, and he’s not any less a hero for having gone outside looking for two fools.”

Vick, an officer since 1989, had received two medals of valor, including one for rescuing a young child from a burning home. He was the first St. Paul officer to be killed in the line of duty since 1994.