Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office Finds Officer Involved Shooting Legally Justified

Photo: Gephardt Daily / Arturo Soria

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – October 2, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) – The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has determined that the August 16, 2015 Use of Deadly Force by a Unified Police Department was legally justified.

The finding comes after a routine Officer Involved Critical Incident (OICI) review was conducted, regarding the events that occurred early that Sunday morning during a traffic stop on 900 E. South Union Ave.

Unified Police said in a statement at approximately 1:42 a.m., Midvale patrol officers observed a motorcycle driving recklessly in the Midvale area. The officers conducted a traffic stop on the motorcycle for multiple traffic offenses.

The statement said: “When the driver of the motorcycle came to a stop, he immediately got off the right side of the bike, allowing the motorcycle to fall to the ground. The driver then immediately approached the officer’s position in a very aggressive manner. The driver appeared to be intoxicated and very agitated, and because of this behavior, the officer called for back-up.

“At some point during this encounter one UPD officer attempted to use his Taser to bring the driver under control. The Taser was not effective. The driver then produced a handgun and shot himself in the head. During this sequence of events, a UPD officer fired at the driver.”

The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office is required by Utah State law, and operates pursuant to an agreement with participating law enforcement agencies and consistent with established protocols and applicable law, to perform joint investigations and independent reviews of officer involved critical incidents including police officers’ use of deadly (including potentially deadly) force used in the scope of police officers’ official duties.

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