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SALT LAKE CITY — An incident involving a man who suffered a medical condition after he was placed in handcuffs by Salt Lake police and later died at a local hospital does not meet the criteria for an officer-involved critical incident, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Friday.
Gill also determined that three U.S. marshals were legally justified in shooting an armed fugitive in December of 2022. Those were two of three decisions announced Friday by Gill regarding recent officer-involved critical incidents.
On Aug. 14, 2022, officers were called to the Fisher Brewing Company, 320 W. 800 South, on a report of a man who had tried to steal beer. Police responded to the area and found Nykon Trenton Brandon, 35, who had a history of drug and alcohol addiction, in the street in his underwear.
Body camera video shows Brandon running from officers, and then fighting with them as he is knocked down on the gravel park strip. A struggle ensues for about three minutes and Brandon continues to resist even after being handcuffed.
After he is restrained and officers tell him to relax, they notice that Brandon stops moving about a minute later.
"Officers rolled Mr. Brandon onto his back and gave him a dose of Narcan. After seeing no chest movement and not finding a pulse, police moved Mr. Brandon from the gravel park strip to the sidewalk and began CPR," according to Gill's report.
Three more doses of naloxone were administered before Brandon was taken to a local hospital, where he died a short time later.
Because he died after being placed in handcuffs, Salt Lake police invoked an officer-involved critical incident investigation.
3 officers 'justified' in shooting, killing fugitive who broke into Salt Lake home
Three Salt Lake police officers were legally justified in shooting and killing a wanted fugitive more than a year ago who broke into a random house with a knife while fleeing police.On Friday, however, Gill said that "based on available evidence, we do not believe that the facts of this case fall within the statutory definition of an 'officer-involved critical incident.'"
An autopsy determined that Brandon died of "sudden cardiopulmonary arrest," the report states.
"While Mr. Brandon's death occurred after he was handcuffed, the primary causes of his death were his poor health, his meth toxicity, and his physical exertion from running and then wrestling with police officers," according to Gill's report. "We do not believe it likely that his death resulted from officers' attempt to gain physical control of him."
Gill noted, however, that even if the case was classified as an officer-involved critical incident, the force used by officers was reasonable and they acted appropriately.
The district attorney's decision on Brandon follows a decision by Gill earlier in the day that found three Salt Lake police officers were legally justified in using deadly force against Penisimani Manupuna Halai, a wanted fugitive who broke into a random house while trying to get away from officers.
"Today's announcement in no way lessens the sadness felt by those who knew Mr. Brandon or Mr. Halai. However, it does mark the conclusion of two long, yet thorough, investigations conducted by outside law enforcement agencies and the district attorney's office. Our jobs as police officers can be emotionally demanding and physically strenuous. No matter the circumstance nor danger we face, we take an oath to uphold the law and to serve and protect our communities. I am proud these separate investigations proved that is exactly what happened in both instances," Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said in a prepared statement Friday.
U.S. marshals shooting
Also Friday, Gill announced that his office had determined officers Nathan Fuluvaka, Aron Gonzalez and Bo Reier, all members of the U.S. Marshals' Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, were justified in shooting a wanted fugitive who brandished a gun.
Although the marshals fired their weapons five times, Gill said it was ultimately determined that Hector Javier Crespo-Rodriguez, 29, died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound.
On Dec. 21, 2022, U.S. marshals were looking for Crespo-Rodriguez at his home in West Valley City. He was wanted on a warrant for drug distribution and investigators learned that he may be armed.
As marshals searched the residence, Crespo-Rodriguez was found hiding in a bedroom closet, according to Gill's report. He ignored numerous commands to show his hands and get out of the closet.
As a Taser was deployed, "Mr. Crespo produced a gun and shot himself in the head," the report says.
When that shot was fired, three members of the task force fired their weapons at Crespo-Rodriguez. An officer who was later interviewed as part of the shooting investigation believed Crespo-Rodriguez fired his weapon first, but almost at the same as the Taser was being deployed.
While an autopsy determined that Crespo-Rodriguez was shot a total of six times, the district attorney's office concluded that he shot himself in the head before officers fired.
