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Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill discusses the officer-involved shooting of Damien Evans during a press conference at the district attorney’s office building in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 12, 2021. A West Valley police officer who shot and killed Evans, an armed parole fugitive, while working with the U.S. Marshals apprehension team on Aug. 27, 2020, was justified in using deadly force, but a second officer was not legally justified when he also fired his weapon during the incident, Gill’s office has concluded.
Steve Griffin, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY A West Valley police officer who shot and killed an armed parole fugitive while working with the U.S. Marshals apprehension team was justified in using deadly force, but a second officer was not legally justified when he also fired his weapon during the incident.
| Updated: Feb. 13, 2021, 2:36 a.m.
A retired Unified Police Department officer died Wednesday after being placed on a ventilator because of COVID-19.
Hugh Bennett, 53, began his work as an officer at the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office in 1995. He joined the UPD in 2010 and retired in 2015. He worked in numerous roles including as a SWAT team operator and field training officer. He won awards including the Division Commanders Award and a Distinguished Unit Citation.
The police department said in a Facebook post that he waged an “arduous battle” with the virus.
“After being hospitalized for more than 30 days, resuscitated once and placed on a ventilator, Hugh’s courageous fight against this disease ended,” reads the post.
Utah Avalanche Victims Identified After Winter Snowpack Kills 4 Skiers
02/08/21 AT 10:05 AM
Authorities in Utah released the names of four skiers who died after getting buried in an avalanche during a backcountry expedition over the weekend.
The U.S. Forest Service’s avalanche center reported that eight skiers were buried and four were killed while skiing the backcountry trails in an area called Wilson Glade, just outside of Salt Lake City.
The Salt Lake Tribune identified the dead as Sarah Moughamian, Louis Holian, Stephanie Hopkins and Thomas Louis Steinbrecher. All of the victims were in their 20s.
The newspaper added that six of the eight people caught up in the avalanche were buried, though two of the six were able to free themselves. The eight skiers were in two separate parties when a so-called “hard slab” broke free at 9,600 feet.
Ballpark neighbors hash out crime concerns in meeting with police chief, sheriff
Ballpark community meets to discuss safety concerns with leaders
and last updated 2021-01-08 07:10:37-05
SALT LAKE CITY â Salt Lake City and County law enforcement and court leaders spoke straight to residents in the Ballpark neighborhood Thursday night, about safety issues in the area.
The public safety meeting, hosted by the Ballpark Community Council, came after two recent homicides a week apart.
While neighbors voiced concerns about issues like drug use, homelessness and violent crime, the focus turned away from what people are seeing outside their windows and shifted to looking at other steps in the system.