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SALT LAKE CITY — The issue of deadly police force is under the microscope right now across the country. The fatal officer-involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, launched a national debate. Recent fatal officer-involved shootings in South Salt Lake and Saratoga Springs kept the emotional conversation going in our communities.
"There's a high level of scrutiny of police use of force right now. Higher than it's ever been in my 32 years of practice," said Greg Skordas, a Salt Lake defense attorney.
When police officers pull the trigger today, he said, they know they face scrutiny that could include the loss of their job, and criminal and civil prosecution.
Skordas should know. He represents the Fraternal Order of Police and gets called out on officer-involved shootings. When he worked in the prosecutor's office, he investigated those same cases from the other side for criminal liability.
"The end result of a bad police shoot, or a shoot that we don't agree with, isn't always charging the officer criminally," he said. He called it risky to charge police officers criminally for actions in the line of duty while facing deadly situations.
"Sometimes they make mistakes: They should be dinged, they should be terminated, they should be demoted," he said.
Skordas believes when a prosecutor takes the case the next step, and prosecutes an officer as a criminal, it puts too great a burden of proof on the prosecution that it cannot meet.
I don't think we should ever have to apologize that when our citizens get shot and killed, or die in our community, that there is interest here to find out why that happened.
–Sim Gill
District Attorney Sim Gill stands by the charges his office filed against former West Valley detective Shawn Cowley. He felt confident the case would be bound over for trial.
"I don't think we should ever have to apologize that when our citizens get shot and killed, or die in our community, that there is interest here to find out why that happened," he said.
But he thinks there is a better way to investigate and screen officer-involved shootings.
"For 3½ years, I've said we need to reform this process," Gill said. "We should have an independent task force for an independent investigation, with an independent review of that process."
Right now the responsibility falls on his office. In 45 months on the job, Gill's office has investigated 44 officer-involved shootings. He justified 40, and found four unjustified, including the Cowley shooting.
"There's a concern from our community about the relationship between citizens and law-enforcement. We should embrace that," Gill said.
Skordas believes officers are well-trained and held to a high standard that the vast majority meet.
"Even though we have seen a lot of cases in the media, both throughout the country and here in Utah, I think we generally do a pretty good job," said Skordas.
This is not a new issue, police have always been scrutinized for their use of deadly force. But, both attorneys agree, 44 officer-involved shootings in 3½ years in Salt Lake County is too many. They agree training is critical to reducing that number.
