Chvistopher Ales (Chet Ciminal Deputy ‘ander ier v ‘chief cv Deputy cone won ATTORNEY'S OFFAE densa 2380 Wesringten Bouvard cvcome or Suite 230 tees Ogden, Un oH401 1864 cowaper cre Telephone (601) 3996377 ict ee 24 Hour FAX (801) 3996305 st tree “Eo snow September 15, 2017 ‘Wamnewit on one ‘Adminieation Chief Carl Merino Pees Roy City Police Department Sebi 5051/8 1900 W an Roy, UT 84067 iti Asian RE: _OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING; OFFICERS RICKS AND JACKSON "Ss Dear Chief Merino: Our office is in the process of investigating the officer-involved shooting involving officers Ricks and Jackson on 2/21/2017. We still do not have ballistics information back from the state crime lab. However, I have determined that the remainder of the investigation is sufficiently complete for me to render a decision. Consequently, I have thoroughly reviewed this case with three senior prosecutors and our chief investigator. We have read all of the reports, evaluated the witness statements, and repeatedly scrutinized body cam and store surveillance video footage. As a result, we have determined the following: Background. Nicholas Sanchez arrived at the Roy Texaco located at 4395 8. 1900 W. on the night of 2/21/2017. A store employee became concerned that Sanchez was acting suspiciously. The employee called the owner who identified Sanchez over video surveillance. The owner informed the employee that Sanchez had been previously trespassed from the store and told the employee to call dispatch and request that police respond. Officers Ricks and Jackson arrived shortly thereafter and made contact with Sanchez. Ricks and Jackson were standing outside the store and Sanchez was standing in the open doorway of the store. Ricks identified Sanchez as the person who had been trespassed from the store and asked Sanchez to come speak with him. Initially Sanchez asked “why?” and “what's this about?”, and he would not leave the doorway. Eventually Sanchez stepped away from the doorway toward the officers and put his hands in his pockets. Jackson told him to keep his hands out of his pockets. Sanchez then told the officers that he didn’t have anything and lifted the waistband of his hoodie revealing a gun. Jackson saw the gun in Sanchez’ waistband on his left @Letter to Chief Merino September 13, 2017 Page 2 side and said “you have a gun on you!” Both officers warned Sanchez not to reach for the gun. Almost immediately after being told not to reach for the gun, Sanchez took a step back and reached aggressively for the gun with his left hand (this is particularly evident when viewing body cam footage in slow motion). Officer Ricks immediately moved toward Sanchez and tried to close the distance to restrain Sanchez from getting the gun. Sanchez pushed against Ricks with his right arm, keeping his left hand by the gun, as he turned to get away from Ricks. Ricks was afraid that Sanchez was going to draw the gun, and he continued to tussle with Sanchez as he pursued him out into the parking lot. Officer Jackson saw Sanchez reaching for his gun during the struggle and fired a shot at Sanchez. As Ricks and Sanchez went to the ground, Ricks recalled staring down the barrel of Sanchez’ gun. Ricks and Sanchez struggled over the gun, and Ricks was able to strip the gun away from Sanchez. In fact, slow motion body cam footage clearly shows the gun in Sanchez’ hand before Ricks was able to wrestle it free. As Ricks was pulling away with the gun he had no way of knowing whether Sanchez had other weapons. Ricks fired three shots from it at Sanchez, dropped the revolver and drew his own duty weapon. As Jackson watched Ricks and Sanchez continuing to struggle over the gun, he fired several more shots at Sanchez until Sanchez stopped moving. Jackson expressed fear that Sanchez would shoot either Ricks or him. | Afterladditional officers arrived, they approached Sanchez, handcuffed him, and patted him down for additional weapons. Jackson then began chest compressions until relieved by medical. - Based on the trespassing complaint, Sanchez was lawfully subject to detention (U.C.A. 77-7-15). Furthermore, upon seeing the firearm in Sanchez’s waistband in plain view, the officers were lawfully entitled to remove the weapon from Sanchez (U.C.A. 77-7-16 and 77-7-17). Utah Code Section 76-2-404(1) states that “A peace officer . . . is justified in using deadly force when: the officer reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is. necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another perso: ‘Subsection (2) states, “If feasible, a verbal warning should be given by the officer prior to any use of deadly force...” In this case, as soon as officers saw that Sanchez was carrying a gun, they clearly warned him not to reach for his gun. Despite the warning, Sanchez reached toward the gun in his waistband. |Letter to Chief Merino September 13, 2017 Page 3 Officer Jackson saw Sanchez reach toward his gun after being warned not to. He also observed Sanchez continuing to reach for his gun during the struggle with Officer Ricks. Therefore it was reasonable for Jackson to believe that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to Ricks or to himself. Officer Ricks also saw Sanchez reach toward his gun after being warned not to. As Ricks was struggling with Sanchez over the gun, Ricks saw the barrel of the gun pointed directly at him. Therefore, it was reasonable for Ricks to believe that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to him or another. Although Ricks was able to wrestle the gun away from Sanchez, he did not have the luxury of immediately knowing whether Sanchez had other weapons. Conclusion. Nicholas Sanchez had a lengthy criminal history including robbery, assault, and weapons charges. He was known to routinely carry guns, despite being a “restricted person” (could not lawfully carry a firearm). He had two charges out of California for “Discharging a Firearm from a Vehicle at a Person,” and he was sent to federal prison in 2011 for “Felon in Possession of Firearm.” During a previous investigation in Layton involving guns one witness stated that Sanchez said he would die before going back to prison, and that he would shoot at the police. A witness in the current investigation stated that Sanchez carried a gun with him everywhere he went and that Sanchez would have shot it out with the police before going back to prison, adding “why do you think he carried a gun?” ‘This background does not alter my analysis of the officers’ conduct in this particular case. However, it does point up the potential danger these officers face whenever they are called out, and I wanted you to be aware of the entire circumstances. In this case 1 find that both officers were justified in using deadly force under Section 76-2-404. Please’ feel free to call me if you would like to discuss this further. Weber County Attorney