Salt Lake City police officers were found not guilty of violating any criminal statutes during a pursuit that ended in a fatal crash. The pursuit began after the officers suspected the car was leaving a shooting scene. The driver of the car was later charged with manslaughter, and it was discovered that his blood alcohol content was three times over the legal limit. The police department invoked its “officer-involved critical incident” protocol, but it was determined that the crash did not meet the criteria for such an incident. No evidence was found to suggest that the officers’ conduct violated any criminal statutes. The Salt Lake Tribune reported
Police Officers Initiate Pursuit of Vehicle Suspected to Be Involved in Shooting Incident
(Salt Lake City Police Department) Salt Lake City police officers respond to a fatal crash that followed a police pursuit on Oct. 8, 2023, near 1100 East and 900 South.
Salt Lake City police officers have been deemed not to have violated any criminal statutes by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill after they pursued a car in October, resulting in a fatal crash near the 9th and 9th whale sculpture. The passenger of the pursued vehicle lost their life in the incident, while the driver was later charged with manslaughter.
According to the findings of the prosecutors, prior to the pursuit, the police were responding with active lights and sirens to a shooting incident at the Durango Bar, situated at 923 South State Street. At this point, a car pulled out in front of the police vehicle without yielding.
The car then accelerated at a “high rate of speed” northbound on State Street. Believing that the vehicle had left the scene of the shooting, the officers decided to pursue it.
As the pursuit continued, two additional officers joined in. The pursued car proceeded to drive eastbound down 900 South for approximately 1.5 miles. However, when the vehicle reached the vicinity of 1100 East and 900 South, it failed to navigate a roundabout, resulting in it going over a curb and becoming airborne, ultimately colliding with a tree.
According to the investigation, the vehicle was traveling at a speed of 71 miles per hour before the rollover crash. The driver, identified as 20-year-old Josue Hernandez Perez, sustained serious injuries, while the sole passenger, identified as 21-year-old Douglas Rodriguez, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Although no officers discharged their firearms during the pursuit and no specific pursuit tactics were employed, such as tire-deflation devices or the “precision immobilization technique,” the Police Department followed its “officer-involved critical incident” protocol as a precautionary measure.
However, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill’s office determined that the fatal crash did not meet the criteria of an “officer-involved critical incident,” which necessitates an external agency to investigate an officer’s use of force resulting in “serious bodily injury or death of a subject,” as outlined in the Salt Lake County protocol document.
Additionally, Gill stated that there was no evidence to suggest that the officers’ conduct violated any criminal statutes.
In October, Hernandez-Perez, the driver of the pursued vehicle, was charged with second-degree felony manslaughter. At the time of the crash, his blood alcohol content was found to be three times higher than Utah’s legal limit of 0.05, as indicated in the charging documents.
Further details regarding the bar shooting, including any potential connection between Hernandez-Perez, Rodriguez, and the initial call, have not been disclosed by the police.
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