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OGDEN — A Weber State University police officer will not face charges after he fatally struck a man with his car last September.
Weber County Attorney Chris Allred told KSL.com on Tuesday that no charges will be filed against officer Paul Tavake, effectively clearing him of any wrongdoing following the investigation. Allred added that multiple prosecutors were involved in the investigation.
"We concluded that there was no criminal negligence involved," Allred said. "It was just a terrible, sad accident."
Tavake — who has worked as a full-time police officer for Weber State since April 2020 — was placed on administrative leave following the crash, which killed 69-year-old William Casselman as he was crossing Washington Boulevard in Ogden.
According to a security camera reviewed by investigators, Casselman was walking east when he entered the crosswalk at Washington Boulevard and 27th Street. Though he pressed the walk button to trigger the walk signal, the signal did not appear because Cassleman pressed it after the green light began for eastbound and westbound lanes on 27th Street, according to the investigative report.
Cassleman, who was walking with the aid of a cane, was still trying to cross the street when the light turned green for northbound and southbound lanes.
Tavake was driving north on Washington Boulevard to do a premise check when he drove through a crosswalk and hit Cassleman, who was thrown in the air and slid 151 feet from where he was initially hit, the report says.
"As officer Tavake approached the intersection, he failed to see Casselman in the crosswalk, striking him with his car," wrote Steve Zaccardi, an investigator for the Weber County Attorney's Office.
Investigators at the scene said Tavake was likely speeding during the crash. Investigators estimated he was driving between roughly 45 mph and 63 mph at the time of the crash. The report says the speed limit in that portion of Washington is 35 mph, as the speed limit decreases from 40 mph at 30th Street and Washington.
The report says Tavake had glanced down to a laptop in his squad car just moments before the crash. At the crash scene, Tavake allegedly told an Ogden police officer, "I looked down at my (computer-aided dispatch) for a second and he was right there," the report says.
After the crash, a warrant was issued for Tavake's in-car laptop and cellphone. The report says investigators "found no evidence on either device to show that officer Tavake was sending any messages, watching videos, or had apps open." When investigators opened the laptop, the dispatch screen became visible, which matched the statement Tavake made to police at the crash scene.
Tavake did not speak with investigators after they requested an interview, according to the report.
Investigators noted that while Tavake's laptop would meet the definition of a prohibited wireless communication device in a vehicle, state law provides an exemption for law enforcement officers acting within their duties.
Tavake returned to work for the university on Nov. 15, according to Allison Barlow Hess, public relations director for the university, and is still a full-time police officer for Weber State.
"We appreciate Weber County for its thorough investigation," she said in an email. "We continue to offer our sympathies for a life lost in the Ogden community."
