SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Three Utah police officers have invoked their right against self-incrimination in the seven use-of-force investigations completed so far this year by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
Officers across the country have been refusing to give statements to prosecutors for years, but Salt Lake City-area officials, including Gill, believe the trend is generally a response to increasing public criticism of police, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Monday.
An attorney who has represented those three officers in Salt Lake County said, “This is a Sim Gill problem.”
Utah police officers have historically cooperated in these use-of-force investigations, which include police shootings, Utah Fraternal Order of Police attorney Bret Rawson said. In doing so, they have gone “against their Fifth Amendment interests,” he said.
Rawson has been advising clients recently to not speak because he and others in law enforcement don’t think Gill is “capable of rendering judgment over these officers in an unbiased fashion.”
Gill, a Democrat, might criminally charge an officer to bolster support for his re-election, Rawson said. The police union has endorsed Republican Nathan Evershed for district attorney.
Gill said his decisions are not politically motivated. He decides cases based on facts and the law as an independent elected official, he said.
“My responsibility is to work with law enforcement, not work for law enforcement,” Gill said. “I work for the citizens of Salt Lake County.”
Gill has evaluated about 65 police shootings during his eight years in the role, he said. Four police shootings were found to be unjustified, leading to charges against two officers.
Gill said he understands officers’ constitutional rights and that they’re acting within the law when they decline to give statements. But their silence could foster distrust in the community.
Without an explanation from the officer, a family might never know the full reason for a shooting, Gill said.
“I’m trying to answer that question for our community,” Gill said. “They have every right to ask the institutions of power about why they shot somebody.”
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
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