In Utah, You’re More Likely To Be Killed By A Violent Cop Than A Gang Banger

More people in Utah have been killed by police in the last five years than by gang bangers, drug dealers, or child abusers, the Salt Lake Tribune is reporting.

The Tribune reviewed some 300 homicide cases dating back to 2009, and found that use of force by police ranks second on the list of circumstances in which Utahns kill each other, behind only murder by intimate partner. Deaths by gang violence, drug violence, and child abuse round out the top five.

Further, almost all killings by Utah police have been found to be justified by the courts. Only one case was found to be unjustified: the 2012 killing of unarmed alleged drug buyer Danielle Willard. And the criminal charges against the police in that case have since been thrown out.

Ian Adams, a West Jordan police officer and spokesman for the Utah Fraternal Order of Police, tells the Tribune that he doesn’t see the problem with the shockingly high number of police killings in Utah.

“Police are trained and expected to react to deadly threats. As many deadly threats emerge is the exact amount of times police will respond. The onus is on the person being arrested to stop trying to assault and kill police officers and the innocent public…. Why do some in society continue to insist the problem lies with police officers?”

In fact, Utah law rather broadly defines the concept of “justified” when it comes to considering police killings in Utah, according to criminal justice professor, and former cop, Robert Waldman. And that my be part of the problem.

“Sometimes the line between is it legal and is it necessary becomes difficult to distinguish. In the judgment of the officer, ‘Is my life in jeopardy? Yes.’ At that point in time, they’re legally grounded in using deadly force. But the question is, is it necessary? That’s something that needs to be firmly addressed, for example, in training.”

As the world awaits the decision of the grand jury considering possible charges against Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who shot unarmed black teenager Mike Brown in August, the subject of police violence — particularly police killings — is facing scrutiny and extra attention in the media. Just this weekend, unarmed 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by Cleveland police for waving a toy gun, according to this Inquisitr report.

The most recent police killing in Utah happened just this weekend, according to Raw Story, when police in South Jordan shot and killed Ty Elvin Worthington in an incident that remains under investigation.

[Image courtesy of: Mashable]