Prosecutors have to meet the far heavier burden of proof beyond all reasonable doubt, and, for that reason, sometimesof criminal cases brought against police officers in shootings, and no convictions.
Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings said that while it’s each department’s call, he believes it is “the wrong call if they don’t do an independent internal review.” “All officers on the scene would have provided better cover and provided more protection for themselves by not advancing on the vehicle and remaining behind their patrol vehicles,” Sgt. Phil Nielsen, the department’s internal investigator, wrote. “Also, traffic continued to flow past the felony stop and put innocent bystander vehicles at risk.”
UCSO’s policies, like most police departments, discourage firing at a moving vehicle. They state that should only occur when an officer “reasonably believes there are no other reasonable means available to avert the imminent threat of the vehicle, or if deadly force other than the vehicle is directed at the deputy or others.”