SANDY, Utah — Newly obtained court documents shed some light on what happened in November 2023 when a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by police in Sandy.
On Nov. 9, police received reports of a minivan stolen from an Army recruiting office in Sandy. Officers began to pursue the vehicle from a distance. The 16-year-old driver of the stolen van attempted to evade officers, and in the process, he hit a motorcycle in the area of Monroe Street and 9000 South. The motorcyclist was critically injured, and although he pulled through, he had to get one of his legs amputated.
After the crash, the teen continued to drive away from officers, who tried to stop him with tire spikes. Those attempts were unsuccessful, and the teen later swerved at an officer who was on foot. That officer fired several shots, striking the teenage suspect, who later died in the hospital.
According to a search warrant obtained by FOX 13 News, the teen had autism and was living at a group home. He escaped and was on the run when he stole the van.
The teen — who has still not been publicly identified — was a resident at a group home in Bluffdale operated by Future Rising Agency LLC.
Court documents show that an investigator with the Utah Attorney General's Office requested a search warrant for cell phone data. The warrant also states there are allegations of patient abuse and neglect related to the teen running away from the group home.
The warrant states that Future Rising was being paid $481 per day to care for the teen, who had a "history of elopement" from caretakers. The Utah Division of Services for People with Disabilities had a list of safety and security recommendations for the teen's care, including 24/7 supervision, and locks and alarms on all doors and windows. The company was also instructed to contact police and others immediately upon learning of any future "elopement" by the teen.
The first person to discover that the teen was missing was a "field agent" for Future Rising, who went to the group home to clean the teen's room. This employee said she called a supervisor around 11 a.m. when she learned that the teen wasn't there.
The document states that the teen stole the government vehicle from the Army recruiting office around 7:30 a.m. The teen was shot shortly after 11:40 a.m.
In a written statement to investigators, the employee said there were a series of phone calls with superiors at Future Rising after she initially reported the teen missing. She also said a meeting was held at the Bluffdale home around 1 or 2 p.m., in which "everyone was yelling at everyone."
Then, according to the warrant, the teen's support coordinator (not employed by Future Rising) received a call from a director at Future Rising, who said staff had taken the teen to a local library and the teen escaped from them around 2 p.m. Investigators pointed out that this was long after the teen's escape and was even hours after he was shot.
In addition, the employee who discovered the teen missing said she was told "to not do anything until [a superior] did her investigation," according to the warrant. An "associate" at Future Rising also sent a text to two people, saying they should "make sure we have the story straight before we call 911."
Finally, the employee was told around 5 p.m. to call police and say that the teen had run away from the library.
The warrant states that the teen had been moved to the Bluffdale home just the day before, and despite the DSPD's instructions, the doors and windows did not have alarms.
