SALT LAKE CITY — A grand jury decided Friday to not indict a Salt Lake City Police sergeant for shooting and killing a man in 2018.
On April 18, 2018, SLCPD officers responded to a domestic violence call at 1132 E. Princeton Avenue.
As Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill explained Friday, the suspect — 32-year-old Delorean Pikyavit — barricaded himself in his house and negotiation teams tried multiple times to get him out.
“At about 1:50 p.m., Mr. Pikyavit opened the front door and exited the residence onto the front porch, holding a long serrated knife in his right hand and a half a pair of scissors in his left hand,” Gill said in a press conference explaining the investigation.
Gill added that when police determined he was a threat, two shots were fired — one from what’s referred to as a “less-lethal weapon,” and the other was Sgt. Joshua Allread shooting Pikyavit with an AR-15. Pikyavit died at the scene. Following protocol, the DA’s office has been working to determine if charges should be filed against the sergeant.
“We believe that expert testimony about the use of force would help a potential judge or jury better understand the evidence in a possible prosecution in this case,” added Gill.
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The three use-of-force experts were Randy Watt, a former chief of police and retired police officer from Ogden; Eric Daigle, an attorney and retired police officer based in Connecticut; and Steven Ijames, a former chief of police and retired police officer based in Missouri.
Watt concluded that the sergeant’s actions were justified. Daigle said the force was not a reasonable amount and was unnecessary. And Ijames said the force was objectively reasonable, but the policies strayed away from contemporary training.
So, when the DA’s office was presented with three different expert opinions, they decided to petition for a grand jury to decide if charges should be filed or not, which they said is an unusual circumstance. The only information released publicly from this grand jury process is that they decided not to file any charges against Allred.
“This was enough of a compelling case for us of concern that we felt that we wanted to use this tool of the grand jury and put it in front of this panel of citizens,” Gill said.
Gill added that his concern was the fact that a less-lethal shot was fired first, but it was followed up with a fatal gunshot within milliseconds.
“The whole point of using less-lethal is to see if it has had the desired outcome and impact when you use it,” he said.
SLCPD issued a statement following the DA's announcement, which read:
"These are always tragic situations, and our condolences are with the Pikyavit family.
"The Salt Lake City Police Department thanks the grand jury for their thorough review and consideration of this case. The amount of time this incident has remained under criminal review by the district attorney is regrettable. The recent decision by the grand jury demonstrates that our officers are called upon by the community to act with professionalism and bravery in very volatile and tense situations.
"The grand jury’s decision is a decision that our community deemed our officer’s actions justified under the law.
"Police work is dynamic and complex requiring officers to make split-second decisions and our officers regularly show great professionalism, tactics and bravery in very volatile and tense situations.
"Our officers receive and utilize ongoing and comprehensive training related to use of force matters that prioritizes the preservation of life.
"Every day, our officers come to work to help ensure community safety and to protect themselves and fellow officers — we are proud of our officers."
