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West Jordan officer cleared in use of deadly force against Diamonte Riviore

Posted at 3:40 PM, Apr 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-25 23:31:13-04

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said a West Jordan Police officer was justified in the use of deadly force when he fired the shots that killed Diamonte Riviore.

"We ultimately conclude, based on the facts and the appropriate law, that Officer White was justified as the concept is expressed in Utah law," Gill said.

According to West Jordan Police, officers were called to a home near 7000 S Cherry Leaf Dr. on the afternoon of October 11, 2018, after receiving a report of domestic violence.

Body-worn camera footage shows the encounter between Riviore and three officers that led up to the shooting. In the footage, officers are seen entering the home and going into a bedroom as Riviore ducks into an attached bathroom.

Police ordered Riviore to show his hands and drop a knife he was holding, but Riviore did not comply.

The video shows Riviore repeatedly opening and closing the door to the bathroom. At one point, while the door was briefly open, Riviore can be seen holding a knife above his head. As one officer tried to deploy a stun gun, another fired two shots.

"As we took these statements from our officers as well as the statements from the victim's family and the video footage that we have, that is why, under our state law, that we ruled this shooting to be justified, and, like I said, we'll be declining to file charges," Gill said in a news conference Thursday.