SALT LAKE CITY — No charges will be filed against a Utah Highway Patrol trooper who deployed his TASER during a chase, causing a man to fall nearly 30 feet to his death in October, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Friday.
On Oct. 13, first responders received multiple calls reporting a man, later identified as Anthony James Valdez, who was on the highway.
When officers eventually located Valdez, he began running away before climbing an embankment east of the freeway and onto the 600 North off-ramp. The trooper then approached Valdez as he was sitting on the edge of the roadway and deployed his TASER as Valdez began to run again. Valdez then fell 21 feet and 8 inches and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner determined Valdez died of blunt force injuries.
In speaking with investigators, the trooper believed Valdez was "heading into a traffic area," which is why he deployed his TASER after yelling, "Taser, taser, taser!" He added that he did not know that the off-ramp had such a fall as the other side was a gradual slope.
Valdez was found with two TASER barbs in his back.
The District Attorney's office said it could not find sufficient evidence to prove that Valdez's death was caused by the trooper's TASER deployment.
