Man who fired 8 shots at Clinton police officer calls his actions 'selfish'


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UTAH STATE PRISON — A man convicted and sentenced to prison for firing eight rounds into a police car, missing the officer inside by inches, admits he was hoping for a "suicide by cop" outcome.

"I was hoping he'd kill me, yes. I was too cowardly to shoot myself. Even more so, I wanted somebody else to do it for me," Zane Openshaw, 26, told Utah Board of Pardons and Parole Vice Chairman Robert Yeates in a recorded copy of his parole hearing Tuesday.

After three years in prison, Openshaw says he is no longer suicidal. Furthermore, he has had time to think about what happened, the consequences and "the reality of this situation."

"I was selfish in my actions. I was only thinking about me. I was only thinking about my pain. I was only thinking about what I wanted," he said. "I don't forgive myself for it. I don't want (the officer) to forgive me for it. I do deserve to be here. I do deserve to serve time here.

"What I did was reckless and disrespectful to everybody. And it just showed the lowest depravity that I could go to," Openshaw said.

On Dec. 12, 2012, Openshaw, who has a history of battling depression and mental illness, had an argument with his girlfriend. He took his handgun with the intention of shooting the first police officer he saw, with the hope police would return fire.

Clinton police officer Jared Jensen was that officer. As he drove near 2300 North and 700 West in Sunset, he saw Openshaw pull a gun out from his waistband and fire all eight rounds into his patrol car.

"I will never forget the sound of the rounds impacting my vehicle, especially those through the driver's side door and window. I will never forget the feeling of bullets passing less than a few inches from my body, and the feeling of glass lacerating my skin as pieces followed the path of the bullets," Jensen told Yeates.

"The memory and the feelings of that day are not any that will ever be forgotten. It's something that will play in my mind over and over."

Jensen said whether it was "sheer luck or the grace of God," he continually feels a sense of gratitude for "whoever or whatever force spared my life."

None of the bullets struck Jensen. After a 40-minute search, Openshaw was found talking on his cellphone in a shed and was arrested without further incident. While being arrested, he allegedly told police, "I don't mind going to death row."

Later, Openshaw would say he shot at the officer as act of "desperation" because he was having trouble finding available mental health services.

Openshaw was originally charged with attempted aggravated murder. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, in 2013 and was sentenced to five years to life in prison.

"The offender already received more consideration than he deserved when the court lessened his charge from attempted aggravated murder to simply attempted murder. Any person that attempted a crime such as murder with premeditation and careful planning does not deserve to be let loose into society to continue to victimize and harm the innocent," Jensen told the board.

After the shooting, Jensen said his department received information that Openshaw's brother and his gang were conducting surveillance on Clinton police officers and planning revenge. Before that could happen, Openshaw's brother was convicted on federal weapons charges and sent to federal prison, he said.

Jensen, with members of his family and fellow officers present at the hearing for support, urged the board not to confuse the intent of Openshaw's actions with the outcome. He described Openshaw's actions as a "hate crime" because he specifically targeted a group of people who wear a badge.

"I do not believe the guilty has reached a penitent state of mind in only three short years," Jensen said.

With family members of his own in attendance to show their support, Openshaw told Yeates that his family is filled with servicemen and servicewomen.

"I have done a great disservice and a great dishonor upon my family. Not only them, but my community and the state of Utah for this act of aggression against this officer. He was serving our community, doing what a lot of people don't want to do — a job that many are afraid to do and a job that should be held with honor like any service," he said.

The full five-member board voted on whether to give Openshaw a release date or set another parole hearing for a future date. Late Wednesday afternoon, Jensen said the board had decided to set another parole hearing for Openshaw for December 2020.

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Pat Reavy

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