SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah, April 21, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Two South Salt Lake police officers were justified in using deadly force during a September 2022 shooting that left a 44-year-old man dead, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office ruled.
District Attorney Sim Gill announced his office’s findings Friday following a review into the officer-involved shooting in South Salt Lake that killed Jebb Muir on Sept. 26, 2022.
In his written review, Gill concludes that Muir “unlawfully presented an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury” to the two officers, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Police initially responded that evening to a home near 450 East and 2500 South, where a woman was requesting assistance to pick up her belongings, according to the district attorney’s office. The woman told police Muir was “in psychosis and angry,” and officers assisted her in getting her items without incident, the review states.
Later that night, Muir called 911 about 11:10 p.m. and told dispatchers he accidentally discharged his weapon in the direction of his neighbor’s house, police said.
“Mr. Muir explained his was trying to unload his gun because he had been having seizures and accidentally discharged it,” Gill’s review states.
Later during the 911 call, police say Muir told dispatchers “that if SWAT was sent, he would kill them,” and later said “if police tried to fight him, they would regret it.”
At 11:42 p.m., a neighbor called 911 to report “there was a man in his driveway with a rifle who just asked him if he wanted to die,” the DA’s office review states.
One of the two officers involved in the shooting later spotted Muir armed with a shotgun and riding a bike, according to the district attorney’s office.
After shining a spotlight on the man, the officer shouted orders of “hands, hands, hands” moments before the officer and Muir began firing their weapons, the review states, though it’s unclear who fired first.
Muir was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The DA’s office investigation concluded Muir fired three shotgun rounds during the exchange of gunfire, while one officer fired 12 rifle rounds and the other fired one handgun round.
