WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Dec. 15, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Criminal charges will not be filed against a West Valley City police officer who shot an injured a man in an exchange of gunfire following a DUI traffic stop in April.
The officer had attempted to stop a suspected drunken driver near 2400 S. Redwood Road about 10:30 p.m. April 20 when the driver fled, police said.
The driver ultimately crashed the vehicle, pulled out a handgun and shot at the police officer, narrowly missing her, according to court documents. The officer returned fire, hitting and injuring the man, later identified as Angel Maciel Bernardino.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill cleared in the officer of wrongdoing in the shooting Friday.
“The facts of this matter support a conclusion that [the officer] could successfully argue that she reasonably believed her use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury,” Gill said in a news release.
Bernardino was charged in 3rd District Court with assault on a peace officer, a second-degree felony; possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; and failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop, a third-degree felony.
Bernardino pleaded guilty Oct. 3 to second-degree felony counts of assault on a peace officer and possession of a firearm by a restricted person. He was sentenced to two to 30 years in prison.
