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SALT LAKE CITY — A Unified police officer who ran over and killed a woman at a Millcreek parking lot in March will not be charged with a crime, according to a newly released statement from Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
Gill released the decision Friday, along with a letter he sent to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera and Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown.
The investigation also revealed Cindreia Simone Europe, 25, died as a result of the injuries she suffered when UPD officer Megan Franklin accidentally ran over her with her patrol car.
The fatal auto-pedestrian accident prompted an Officer Involved Critical Incident investigation, the results of which were included in Gill’s letter.
Franklin, who was on paid administrative leave pending the investigation’s outcome, responded to a welfare check in the Highline Plaza, near 2300 East and 3300 South, about 11 p.m. on March 5. When Franklin arrived, she didn’t see anyone in the lot.
As she turned to drive to the south end of the parking lot she ran over Europe, who was lying down on the ground, according to the letter. Franklin called for backup and began administering first aid to Europe, who was later transported to a hospital.
Surveillance camera footage of the incident showed Europe was hard to see and wasn’t wearing reflective clothing, according to the letter. It also showed the parking lot wasn’t well lit, and Europe was lying in the parking lot for 13 minutes prior to being run over.
It was also discovered during the investigation that dispatchers didn’t relay all the information about the situation to Franklin. For example, the caller told dispatchers there was a woman lying in the parking lot and the caller was concerned the woman might get run over by a car — neither of these details was told to Franklin.
Investigators also found Franklin’s car never traveled more than 10 mph while in the parking lot.
In the letter, Gill said no evidence was found that showed Franklin intentionally hurt Europe, acted recklessly, or was criminally negligent in the incident. Under Utah law, to prove Franklin acted recklessly would mean proving Franklin was aware that by driving into the parking lot there would be a risk of running over Europe, according to the letter.
Similarly, to prove Franklin was negligent would mean proving Franklin was aware of but consciously disregarded the risk of hitting Europe with her car, Gill explained in his letter. No evidence was found to suggest this was the case, according to the letter.
"We believe that if Officer Franklin had been informed that the call for service regarded a person lying in the middle of the parking lot, her actions would have been respectively different," Gill wrote in the letter. "However, under the circumstances as we understand them to be, we can't say that Officer Franklin's actions violated any state criminal statute."
According to police records obtained by KSL, Franklin has a history of poor driving. She resigned from the West Valley City Police Department after she was put on one-week leave without pay for consistent traffic violations.
"Your driving history reflects a poor pattern of attention to proper driving tactics and this has contributed to an unacceptable number of preventable accidents on your part," former West Valley Police Chief Lee Russo wrote in a letter to Franklin.
Russo's letter further noted that the officer was involved in "an excessive number of preventable accidents" and that several disciplinary actions "appear to have little corrective effect in changing your driving behavior."
If new evidence is found, Gill said charges could be filed in the future against Franklin.
3.5.19 OICI Signed Letter by KSLcom on Scribd
