SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 31, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City police have released body-worn camera video from an arrest that left a woman with a broken leg upon learning the department is being sued after her leg had to be amputated.
“Today, we are announcing we have invoked the officer-involved-critical-incident (OICI) protocol and we are releasing body-worn camera (BWC) footage from a 2023 case,” a Friday afternoon press release said.
“This is a unique situation,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown. “Recently, we became aware of a civil lawsuit in this case and upon reviewing the facts, and allegations, we elected to invoke the OICI protocol in the interest of transparency, accountability, and to ensure compliance with state law.”
At 8:31 p.m. on Friday, September 1, 2023, two Salt Lake City police officers contacted a 57-year-old woman, later identified as Agnes Martinez, near 400 West 1700 South, according to the release.
“Officers made the determination to arrest Ms. Martinez on drug-related charges.” Despite multiple commands to stop, warnings, and efforts to de-escalate, Ms. Martinez physically resisted. During the arrest process, Ms. Martinez and the officers went to the ground, the release said.
“Afterward, officers noticed an injury to Ms. Martinez’s leg, which appeared to be a broken leg. Officers placed her in handcuffs and sat her up. Officers called for paramedics to respond. Paramedics took Ms. Martinez to the hospital.”
The district attorney’s office later filed a criminal case against Ms. Martinez, which is pending. On July 31, 2024, SLCPD became aware of a civil lawsuit alleging that Ms. Martinez’s injuries on September 1 later led to the amputation of her leg, a serious bodily injury.
After learning about the leg amputation, as outlined in the civil complaint, the SLCPD invoked the OICI protocol and initiated an internal affairs review. Under Utah state law, serious bodily injury, occurring during an arrest, is considered an officer-involved-critical-incident.
The department “does not currently have independently verified information regarding the medical causes or reasons behind Ms. Martinez’s leg amputation.”
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There is no 9-1-1 call associated with this incident.
“Multiple investigations are ongoing and these will thoroughly examine all relevant details,” the department cautions.
“Until these investigations are complete, any assumptions, including any conclusions or correlations between the amputation and the officers’ encounter, would be premature and potentially misleading.”
