Farmington police this afternoon will publicly release body camera footage from the five officers who fatally shot Chase Allan on March 1, officials announced Wednesday.
Allan, 25, was pulled over in the parking lot of the Farmington post office after an officer noticed an illegitimate license plate on the back of his car. At the time, it was considered a routine traffic stop, Farmington police Chief Eric Johnsen has said.
Once pulled over, Allan refused to get out of his car and “asserted his independence from the laws of the land,” Farmington police have said. The initial officer then called for backup and four more officers responded. As they tried to remove Allan from the car, an officer yelled that Allan had a gun, and the five officers opened fire.
According to police, a handgun was found on the floorboard of Allan’s car, and a holster on his hip was empty, though it is unclear if Allan ever brandished the weapon or opened fire. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
In a statement released last week, Allan’s family questioned the police account that the traffic stop was routine. They alleged, without citing the source of their information, that the officer who pulled Allan over “requested multiple other officers to the scene a couple blocks prior to the stop.”
Police have not described the illegitimate plate that prompted the initial officer to pull Allan over. But news footage shows Allan’s vehicle bore a placard that included a known “sovereign citizen” symbol — part of a flag, with blue stars and red-and-white stripes — along with the words “Utah, American State Citizen” and “Notice, Private Automobile Not For Hire.”
It is unclear whether the officer recognized the symbol on the placard. It is also unclear whether Allan considered himself specifically part of the “sovereign citizen” movement, but the placard has put a spotlight on the loose network of extremists who reject government and law enforcement. The FBI considers sovereign citizens a domestic terrorist movement, and notes that followers regularly put false license plates on vehicles.
The statement from Allan’s family, who have accused police of his “brutal murder,” said Allan had been “studying law the last few years and was a patriot doing what he could to defend the people’s freedom and liberty in his community.” It did not name the sovereign citizen movement.
If Allan was associated with the sovereign citizen movement, it is not why officers fired, Johnsen told The Salt Lake Tribune on Monday.
The March 1 shooting marked the fourth police shooting in Utah so far this year, according to a database maintained by The Salt Lake Tribune. The five officers who opened fire on Allan were placed on administrative leave pending the ongoing investigation.
— This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/t36wL2f
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