This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A deputy's use of force in the September shooting death of a man in Logan Canyon was found "reasonable and justified" in a decision from the Cache County Attorney's Office.
In a statement Tuesday, County Attorney James Swink identified the officer involved as Sgt. Greg Johnson with the Cache County Sheriff's Office. Johnson acted "properly and lawfully," Swink notes, when he shot and killed 30-year-old Jeremy Ray Swenson, of Hyrum.
Deputies were dispatched the morning of Sept. 19 to the Right Hand Fork area of Logan Canyon to make contact with Swenson, who allegedly was suicidal and making threats with a weapon toward his estranged wife. Swenson apparently did not respond to commands to drop the weapon and Johnson fired a single shot.
Swenson was transported to a local hospital, where he died.
Johnson's actions, the report says, were "necessitated by a serious threat to human safety" because Swenson's wife was in immediate danger.
The woman asked for a protective order against her husband and filed for divorce in March, according to 1st District Court documents. The couple agreed to drop the protective order request after being granted a mutual restraining order in the divorce action.
A judge dismissed the divorce case in June, though Swenson filed for divorce one month later. That was still pending when he died, court records show.
Johnson was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting.
Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner