FARMINGTON, Utah — As the Farmington Police Department identified the man killed in Wednesday’s officer-involved shooting, the community awaits more answers from police.
“There’s a lot missing from this, right? What the circumstances were,” said Chris Burbank, retired Salt Lake City police chief.
On Wednesday around 3:30 p.m., 25-year-old Chase Allan was pulled over in a post office parking lot for driving with no license plates. A Farmington police officer requested backup and, according to police, Allan refused to exit the vehicle.
Officers said that during the attempt to get him out, multiple shots were fired.
“That’s how we train and I know my guys and if they fired shots I’m certain they were in fear of their life,” said Farmington Police chief Eric Johnsen.
“I will argue there is no license plate infraction in this country that is worth the loss of someone’s life,” said Burbank.
Allan was shot inside the car and later died at a local hospital.
FOX 13 News reached out to the police department multiple times but have yet to receive a response on whether Allan had a gun with him at the time of the shooting.
“It is the responsibility of the government to tell the public what we engaged in,” said Burbank.
Five officers are now on administrative leave, which is 20% of Farmington’s police force. Burbank said the department’s small numbers are no excuse for a fatal traffic stop.
“This is not unique to just cities or problems. We’re seeing this and it really is a failure of our system that we can change,” he said.
None of the Farmington Police officers were injured and he Davis County Critical Incident Protocol Team is now taking over the investigation.
The family of the victim has since spoken out in a written statement sent to FOX 13 News which reads in full:
Chase Linde Allan was a gracious, loving soul who was known by everyone in his community to be caring, thoughtful, and kind and would do anything for someone in need. He attended school in Davis County at Eagle Bay Elementary, Farmington Junior High and Davis High School. Although he had a shy and quiet demeanor, he was able to make quick friends who cared about Chase deeply and will remember him fondly. Chase graduated from Davis High School in 2016 where he played soccer earning varsity letters and at the Real Salt Lake Academy. Chase would then pursue higher education and went on to play soccer at UC Davis and Utah State University.
He was 25 years old and had graduated from Utah State University. He was always selflessly helping and protecting others in need. He has been studying law for the last few years and was a patriot doing what he could to defend the people’s freedom and liberty in his community.
The devastating and tragic death of Chase Linde Allan quite literally hits home as his young life was taken from him on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023, in the parking lot of our local Farmington City Post Office. Chase was a son, brother, grandson, nephew, peer, teammate, student, and neighbor amongst many other important roles he played within our community.
We have learned more from media coverage about what occurred than anywhere else right now. Officers claim it was a routine traffic stop, yet the officer requested multiple other officers to the scene a couple of blocks prior to the stop. This resulted in the brutal murder of Chase at the hands of 5 Farmington Police officers, with them shooting him while he was still in his automobile and likely terrified for his safety. They shot 12-plus rounds at him while he was still inside the car with the engine running and lights on when reporters arrived.
Police are stonewalling us. Our family has not been permitted to see Chase and has not been contacted by authorities or justice departments with information surrounding this investigation. Chase lived at home with his parents in Farmington. Our family was not properly notified of Chase’s death as next of kin. We found out about Chase’s death along with the entirety of our community via News Reporters and Articles written online.
