Officer use of force -- Investigations.

Checkout our iOS App for a better way to browser and research.



  • (1) As used in this section:
    • (a) "Dangerous weapon" means a firearm or an object that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury to a person.
    • (b) "Deadly force" means a force that creates or is likely to create, or that the person using the force intends to create, a substantial likelihood of death or serious bodily injury to a person.
    • (c) "In custody" means in the legal custody of a state prison, county jail, or other correctional facility, including custody that results from:
      • (i) a detention to secure attendance as a witness in a criminal case;
      • (ii) an arrest for or charging with a crime and committing for trial;
      • (iii) committing for contempt, upon civil process, or by other authority of law; or
      • (iv) sentencing to imprisonment on conviction of a crime.
    • (d) "Investigating agency" means a law enforcement agency, the county or district attorney's office, or an interagency task force composed of officers from multiple law enforcement agencies.
    • (e) "Officer" means an officer described in Section 53-13-102.
    • (f) "Officer-involved critical incident" means any of the following:
      • (i) an officer's use of deadly force;
      • (ii) an officer's use of a dangerous weapon against a person who causes injury to any person;
      • (iii) death or serious bodily injury to any person, other than the officer, resulting from an officer's:
        • (A) use of a motor vehicle while the officer is on duty; or
        • (B) use of a government vehicle while the officer is off duty;
      • (iv) the death of a person who is in custody, but excluding a death that is the result of disease, natural causes, or conditions that have been medically diagnosed prior to the person's death; or
      • (v) the death of or serious bodily injury to a person not in custody, other than an officer, resulting from an officer's attempt to prevent a person's escape from custody, to make an arrest, or otherwise to gain physical control of a person.
    • (g) "Serious bodily injury" means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-1-601.
  • (2) When an officer-involved critical incident occurs:
    • (a) upon receiving notice of the officer-involved critical incident, the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the incident occurred shall, as soon as practical, notify the county or district attorney having jurisdiction where the incident occurred; and
    • (b) the chief executive of the law enforcement agency and the county or district attorney having jurisdiction where the incident occurred shall:
      • (i) jointly designate an investigating agency for the officer-involved critical incident; and
      • (ii) designate which agency is the lead investigative agency if the officer-involved critical incident involves multiple investigations.
  • (3) The investigating agency under Subsection (2) may not be the law enforcement agency employing the officer who is alleged to have caused or contributed to the officer-involved critical incident.
  • (4) This section does not preclude the law enforcement agency employing an officer alleged to have caused or contributed to the officer-involved critical incident from conducting an internal administrative investigation.
  • (5) Each law enforcement agency that is part of or administered by the state or any of the state's political subdivisions shall adopt and post on the agency's publicly accessible website:
    • (a) the policies and procedures the agency has adopted to select the investigating agency if an officer-involved critical incident occurs in the agency's jurisdiction and one of the agency's officers is alleged to have caused or contributed to the officer-involved incident; and
    • (b) the protocols the agency has adopted to ensure that any investigation of officer-involved incidents occurring in the agency's jurisdiction are conducted professionally, thoroughly, and impartially.




Download our app to see the most-to-date content.