4 officers found legally justified in shooting, killing armed National Guardsman

HERRIMAN — Four officers have been determined to be legally justified in using deadly force a year ago against a suicidal man who had fired multiple rounds at police armored vehicles during a 5½-hour standoff.

Alma Andrew Worthington, 38, who was an active member of the Utah Army National Guard, was shot and killed by four members of the South Valley SWAT team. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill on Friday held a press conference to announce he had determined the officers were legally justified in their actions.

Before going over the facts of the case, Gill noted that he had met with a representative from Worthington's family and offered his condolences. He called the incident a "tragic convergence" of a veteran in crisis and a situation known as "suicide by cop." Gill encouraged veterans and their families to seek help for any veteran who is in crisis.

On Nov. 20, 2022, Worthington called 911 to report he was suicidal and asked police to keep his family from coming over because he "would shoot anyone who came through the front door." Worthington also claimed he was intoxicated, had 200,000 rounds of ammunition in his home, and that "there was no talking him down," according to Gill.

While Herriman police officers who responded to the scene were nearby discussing the situation, a volley of shots was heard.

"Over the next several hours, officers attempted to negotiate with Mr. Worthington; however, he failed to cooperate and gunshots continued to be heard from inside his residence," the report states.

Nearby residents were initially instructed to shelter in place, but police later began evacuating homes in the area of Herriman Towne Center. The South Valley SWAT Team was called to surround the home in the area of 13000 S. River Rose Lane (5100 West).

Three armored vehicles were brought to the scene — two of them positioned in front of the residence and one in the rear. Worthington walked in and out of his residence to his front porch several times, making comments such as, "Shoot me" and, "It ends one of two ways — one, I shoot at you or two, you shoot at me," the report states.

After five hours of negotiations, "Mr. Worthington threatened to shoot the lights out of the three armored vehicles if they didn't turn them off," according to the report.

When the spotlights remained on, Worthington opened fire on the vehicles. An officer in one of the vehicles reported being hit by a suspected fragment but was not seriously injured, the report says.

"He's shooting at me big time, dude," the officer is heard on body camera video telling another officer.

The shots prompted another officer, who was positioned as a sniper about 30 yards away, to fire two rounds at Worthington.

Officers then shot canisters of tear gas into Worthington's residence, prompting more shots from him, according to Gill. Minutes later — approximately 5½ hours after the standoff began — Worthington exited his residence armed with a rifle and wearing a tactical vest. Worthington was shot by several officers and killed.

Although no one from the public was injured, police discovered that numerous gunshots from Worthington had struck nearby cars, apartments and garage doors. In addition to videos from drones, body cameras and doorbell cameras, Gill received videos shot by neighbors on their cellphones.

"Everybody down, everybody down!" a father can be heard in one video telling his family as a volley of shots are fired.

The officers who were determined to be legally justified in using deadly force are Herriman police officer Jared Goulding, Herrman Police Sgt. Marcus Bucketed, Riverton police detective Troy Morgan and South Jordan police officer Brett Talbot. The report says the officers fired a total of 15 rounds.

More than 50 officers responded to the standoff. Gill says they all showed great discretion in handling the situation, noting that Worthington had walked in and out of his house several times and police did not fire, and that negotiators were able to have extended conversations with him. At one point, Worthington walked into his driveway and hung a costume that his child was using for a play onto his truck.

Gill said police officers are forced to make hard decisions. In this case, it was a balance of trying to get Worthington help, while also knowing that he was heavily armed, very accurate when shooting and had stated that he wanted to commit suicide and not go back into treatment.

"These are all dynamic situations. And you have to be constantly juxtaposing and balancing between trying to respond to mitigate the situation and simultaneously protect the community at large," Gil said. "I think if he really wanted to hit somebody, he was accurate enough that he could hit somebody."

Gill noted during his comments that 17 veterans a day in the United States die by suicide, and he encouraged lawmakers and community leaders to do what they can to help.

"This is something we need to start paying attention to here. We have thousands of veterans who are coming back and they need help," he said.

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