Ralph Chamness

Chief Deputy
Civil Division

SIM GILL

Jeffrey William Hall

Chief Deputy
Justice Division

DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Blake Nakamura

Lisa Ashman

Chief Deputy
Justice Division

Administrative
Operations

March 3, 2016
SALT LAKE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DECLINES MEDIA REQUESTS
IN OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING INVESTIGATION:
WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROTECTING THE DUE PROCESS RIGHTS OF EVERYONE
INVOLVED
Media contact: DA Sim Gill, (801) 230-1209 (mobile), 385-468-7700 (office), or sgill@slco.org
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office is part of an on-going, multi-agency investigation of the
February 27, 2016, officer-involved shooting of a 17-year-old male. Although the DAs Office has
received multiple media requests to release body camera footage of the incident, we have determined not
to release it at this time.
As Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill explains:
Legally, an officer-involved shooting investigation is no different from any other investigation into
potentially criminal conduct: the procedural, evidentiary, and constitutional rights of all participants
must be respected at all times. As a practical matter, however, this type of investigation is
complicated by the involvement of several different agencies, intense media scrutiny, and the publics
right to timely information about the officers who are sworn to protect and serve their
communities. Striking the delicate balance between these often competing interests is essential to
ensure that neither the integrity nor the conclusion of an investigation is compromised.
With that in mind, my office is declining media requests to release the officers body camera footage
at this time. We have asked other involved agencies to respect that determination.
Please understand that we did not arrive at this decision lightly. But these video recordings may
contain evidence of a crime or other misconduct, and as a result may be relevant not just to the
officer-involved shooting investigation but also, potentially, to other charges or claims relating to
it. Video recordings, just like all other evidence, must be handled in accordance with the rules of law,
consistent with the constitutional safeguards guaranteed to every participant in our criminal justice
system.
I believe past investigations of my office have been needlessly complicated, and sometimes
compromised, when evidence was released prematurely, often against my advice and over my
objection. This investigationlike all officer-involved shooting investigationsis too important to
run that risk.
We are committed to protecting the due process rights of everyone involved, while also engaging in
an open and transparent process. To that end, we will work to complete the investigation as fairly and
expeditiously as possible. Although, despite the diligence of all involved agencies, that may take
weeks or even months to conclude, we are committed to releasing information relevant to this matter
as soon as we can do so without compromising the investigation.
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