This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Tooele County Sheriff's deputy who shot and killed 28-year-old Nicholas McGehee in late December was legally justified in using deadly force, the Tooele County Attorney's Office ruled on Friday.
Sgt. Eli Wayman fired three shots from his AR15 rifle at McGehee on Dec. 28. One bullet struck the Stansbury Park man in the chest after he allegedly aimed his own gun at the deputy.
Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead wrote in the ruling that Wayman was justified in using deadly force because "he reasonably believed that deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or the others present."
Wayman had responded to a 4 a.m. call, expected to help McGehee with a lacerated foot at a home near the intersection of Aberdeen Lane and Merion Drive. A Utah Highway Patrol trooper went with Wayman to assist, according to Broadhead's ruling.
McGehee's wife, Kathryn McGehee, had called 911, and told dispatchers that her husband was "very intoxicated" and refused to go to the hospital to treat his cut foot. Just before Wayman arrived at their home, Kathryn McGehee called 911 again and said her husband had a shotgun and was aiming it at the front door, Broadhead wrote.
At some point, McGehee's wife came out of the house. While Trooper Andrew Prescott helped her to his car for safety, McGehee came to an open doorway with his shotgun in hand, according to Broadhead.
"Sgt. Wayman yells at McGehee to 'drop the gun, come talk to me, put the gun down,' " Broadhead wrote. "McGehee looks at him, steps back inside and slams the door. Sgt. Wayman then advises dispatch that they had a barricaded situation."
McGehee then went out the front door, shotgun still in hand, Broadhead said, and allegedly pointed it at Wayman.
Wayman later told investigators that he thought McGehee was going to shoot him, so he fired his gun three times before a shot struck McGehee and he fell to the ground. He died at his home, Broadhead wrote.
When Wayman was asked about his thoughts prior to firing the three shots, he told investigators, "I die right there and he comes and gets my rifle and engages Andy [Prescott]. I felt my life was in danger. I felt Andy's was in danger. I know [McGehee's] wife was in danger inside as well as outside [the house]. I needed to stop this guy. He's intent on hurting somebody."
Wayman also told investigators that McGehee "never said a word" during the deadly encounter and that, based on the way he carried himself, appeared to have military or police training.
McGehee's father, Russell McGehee, said in December that he had never seen his son pull a gun on anyone.
"Dead man can't talk," Russell McGehee said Friday after the county attorney's ruling was announced. "That's all I can say. I don't know what went on that night. I don't have any idea."
McGehee had wanted to be a soldier since he was 10 years old, and in 2009, he was deployed on his first of two tours to Iraq.
Though McGehee was in the infantry, his father said that "they actually did some special ops stuff to actually catch the bomb makers [who created improvised explosive devices]."
But his tours took their toll. During his first 15-month deployment, McGehee's first wife left him because the stress was too much, Russell McGehee said.
Then, during the last month of his first tour, McGehee's vehicle hit an IED — the first of two.
McGehee lost some of his hearing in the bombings and suffered from post-traumatic stress. McGehee returned to Iraq and was hit by another IED in the first month.
When he returned to the U.S. after that second, 12-month tour, McGehee was stationed in Utah and became a military recruiter.
McGehee had been taking online courses to become a nurse, and had become certified to both perform and teach CPR, his father said.
McGehee has no prior criminal history in Utah, according to a search of court records.
Broadhead wrote in his ruling that Wayman was wearing a body camera that morning and had tried to turn it on, but was "unsuccessful."
"The body camera was issued to Sgt. Wayman approximately one or two weeks prior to this incident," the county attorney wrote.
Broadhead also noted that Wayman never verbally identified himself as a police officer, as "encouraged" by state law. But he wrote that this was not an important factor in his decision to rule the shooting justified.
McGehee was one of at least five military veterans to have been killed by Utah law enforcement officers since 2010, according to a Tribune analysis of fatal shootings by police.
— Tribune reporters Nate Carlisle and Erin Alberty contributed to this report.
Twitter: @jm_miller