The Ogden police officer who shot and wounded a 32-year-old man armed with a knife last week said he felt threatened by the man as soon as he stepped out of his patrol vehicle, newly filed court records state.
The officer on Nov. 1 fired four rounds at Casey Pacheco, striking Pacheco twice. During a news conference the next day, Police Chief Eric Young said the officer — who had been on the force for less than two years — had been responding to a 911 call about a man holding a knife to a woman’s throat on the 200 block of 26th Street.
Young at the time said he did not know if Pacheco had rushed toward the officer or threatened the officer. The chief also was not aware of whether Pacheco was holding the knife to the woman’s throat when the officer arrived. There was no body camera footage of the shooting, Young said, because the officer did not grab a body camera when he ran to his patrol car to respond to the 911 call. The officer was not injured.
But charging documents filed in 2nd District Court on Monday paint a clearer picture of the moments leading up to the police shooting. They state that, upon arrival, the officer saw Pacheco pull out a large knife. Pacheco then started walking toward the officer, the documents read, “causing the officer fear.”
The officer moved away from Pacheco, then drew his gun and ordered Pacheco to drop the knife, witnesses told investigators, according to the documents. But instead of dropping the knife, Pacheco held it to his own throat as he walked back and forth “in an erratic manner,” the documents state.
According to the documents, Pacheco yelled at the officer, “You are going to have to kill me.” He continued to hold the knife to his throat, screaming and moving toward the officer “in a threatening manner,” the documents state.
Before the officer opened fire, the officer believed Pacheco was “intent to continue to close the distance between them and then use the knife to stab and kill him,” the documents state.
Pacheco dropped the knife once he was hit. He was hospitalized for his wounds and released over the weekend. Court records show he was charged Monday with assault against a peace officer, a second-degree felony; and threatening with or using a dangerous weapon in a fight, a class A misdemeanor.
The Weber County Attorney’s Office continues to investigate.
Young said the officer, who has not been identified, was placed on administrative leave after the shooting. It marked the 25th police shooting in Utah this year, according to a Salt Lake Tribune database, and the second in Ogden.
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