A Salt Lake City officer who shot and killed a man four years ago — milliseconds after another SWAT officer fired a less-lethal round — will not face charges, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
The officer shot and killed Delorean Pikyavit in 2018. Experts differ on whether police responded appropriately.
“We believed that it would be beneficial to include the community in the decision of whether to file criminal charges against him,”On April 18, 2018, Pikyavit’s girlfriend called 911 around 12:15 p.m. to report that he had punched her “over and over” in the face and that he was suicidal. The woman told a dispatcher that Pikyavit had a knife — later determined to be a broken pair of scissors — and held it to his neck, according to Gill’s finding letter.
The SWAT team, including Allred and three others, arrived and took control of the scene at 1:18 p.m., about an hour after Pikyavit’s girlfriend called 911. Moving down the porch steps, Pikyavit soon threw the serrated knife on the ground, transferring the scissor blade to his right hand. Officers continued telling him sit down and drop the knife.
While Daigle said it was clear that Pikyavit had the “ability” to harm officers, he was unconvinced he had the “opportunity” or “intent” to. “Accordingly, a prudent and properly trained officer facing these or similar circumstance would have reasonably perceived this action to be an attempt to cause death or serious physical injury,” Ijames wrote.
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