A review by Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead found Salt Lake City police were justified in their use of force when they fired on an armed suspect who fled to Lake Point in May.
Salt Lake City Police Lt. Craig Gleason and Officer Moeilealoalo Tafisi fired on Roman Carrillo the morning of May 30 after Carrillo was involved in a shooting in Salt Lake and led officers on a chase into Tooele County. Hospital medical personnel determined Carrillo suffered a gunshot wound to his pelvic area and his head, with the head wound self-inflicted and the cause of death, according to Broadhead’s report.
The other suspect, Andrew Greening, surrendered to police and was unharmed.
Salt Lake City police were originally dispatched to a men’s shelter on 500 West on reports of shots fired at 4:55 a.m. on May 30, the report said. When officers arrived, they were advised the male victim, Alex Yetter, had been shot three times by the occupants of a red Dodge Neon.
Approximately 20 minutes later, officers located the suspect vehicle on 1000 W. North Temple and followed the Dodge Neon while awaiting backup, the report said. Officers followed until 500 S. 600 West, where they activated their overhead lights to initiate a stop but the suspect vehicle continued at a slow speed.
The pursuit continued past the shelter where the shooting had occurred and people at the shelter confirmed they were following the correct vehicle, the report said. At that point, the suspects fled northbound on 500 West at a high rate of speed, with officers activating their sirens in a pursuit that reached up to 95 mph on Salt Lake City streets.
The chase continued onto westbound Interstate 80, where speeds crested at 105 mph, the report said. Tooele County law enforcement was notified of the chase, which was approaching the county.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper set up spikes east of the state Route 201 overpass on I-80, which the driver of the Dodge Neon hit, deflating the right front and rear tires, according to the report. The pursuit continued onto Exit 99 for Lake Point and onto Saddleback Boulevard; officers followed the suspect onto Mountain View Road and finally to Canyon Road.
While on Canyon Road, Tafisi attempted to perform a pursuit technique to end the chase, which caused the driver of the suspect vehicle to lose control and crash into a tree at 1502 Canyon Road, the report said.
Tafisi parked his vehicle on the roadway and exited his vehicle around 5:46 a.m., and he was fired on by the suspects, according to the report. He returned fire as he ran for cover, with two rounds from the suspects striking the left fender and driver’s door of Tafisi’s patrol vehicle.
A standoff between officers and the suspects ensued, with officers giving verbal commands by yelling and using the vehicle’s PA system, the report said. Greening surrendered during the standoff and told officers Carrillo had a .22 rifle.
Gleason said he saw Carrillo place the muzzle rifle against his forehead and leaned against it, according to the report. Gleason said Carrillo then pulled the rifle away from his head, pulling a bandana over his face and looked toward Gleason.
Carrillo’s body came forward and he pulled the rifle up, causing Gleason to believe Carillo was going to shoot him, the report said. Gleason fired a shot from his handgun before ducking behind cover.
When Gleason peaked out of cover, he saw Carrillo sitting against his car with the rifle against his head, the report said. A few seconds later, Gleason heard a pop and saw Carrillo go down.
Gleason’s account of the events was confirmed by a witness, up until the witness ducked their head when Carrillo lifted the rifle.
Officers approached Carrillo and found him with the rifle in his hand, with his thumb near the trigger, according to the report. Reports by forensics and the medical examiner confirmed Carrillo fired the rifle into his head.
The entire standoff lasted about 15 minutes, ending at 6:01 a.m., according to Broadhead’s report.
In his review, Broadhead said Tafisi and Gleason were justified in their use of deadly force due to the previous shooting in Salt Lake, the shots fired at Tafisi and the threat of Carrillo raising the rifle at Gleason.
For the shooting in Salt Lake City, Greening was charged with three counts of first-degree felony discharge of a firearm and one count of third-degree felony possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person. On Aug. 11, he pleaded guilty to three amended counts of second-degree felony discharge of a firearm and the firearm possession charge was dismissed.
Greening was sentenced to one year in the Salt Lake County Jail on Oct. 20.