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MAGNA — A Unified police officer was legally justified when he exchanged gunfire with a suspected forger at a bank, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.
No one was injured in the Feb. 6 gun battle near the Wells Fargo Bank at 8295 W. 3500 South. Unified police officers were called to a report of a bad check being passed at the bank. The man, who had been in the bank earlier that day, became nervous when the teller took a long time with his request as she tried to delay him, according to charging documents.
"You called the cops? Why did you call the cops?" he asked her, according to police.
Officers arrived just as Michael Joseph, 33, was walking out. As the officers were walking in the bank, Joseph asked them, "What, these guys called you on me?" according to District Attorney Sim Gill's report.
But as they tried to handcuff Joseph, he ran out the door. During the ensuing foot chase, Joseph pulled what appeared to be a "MAC-10 machine pistol" from his waistband and fired back at officers while continuing to run, the report states. Unified police officer Dustin Olzack returned fire.
Joseph later told police he felt one of the rounds go by his head. Moments later, he said he slipped and fell to the ground. When officers took him into custody, he "uttered something to the effect that he should have shot himself," the report states.
Investigators determined Joseph fired three times and Olzack shot twice. Although no one was hit, investigators said a bullet hole was found in Joseph's coat.
Because Olzack reasonably believed there was a imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, Gill determined that he was justified in using deadly force.
Joseph was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with attempted murder, or an alternate charge of assault against a police officer, a first-degree felony. He was also charged with two counts of felony discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, first-degree felonies; as well as forgery and identity fraud, third-degree felonies, and two misdemeanors.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office is also seeking sentencing enhancements for Joseph if he is convicted, arguing that he should be classified as a "habitual criminal."
According to Utah state court records, Joseph was convicted in 2012 of violating a protective order and was sentenced to one year in jail. In 2007 he was convicted of attempting to pose as another person. In 1998 he was convicted of weapons violations and sentenced to jail. In 1997, he pleaded no contest to a charge of assault by a prisoner. In 1996, Joseph also pleaded no contest to forcible sexual abuse and was sentenced to one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison.
