The Salt Lake County District Attorney ruled Friday that a man’s death after his arrest in April 2022 did not warrant criminal charges, according to a determination letter released by the office.
A Murray police officer pulled over Sean Paul Masters, 52, during a traffic stop about 11:30 p.m. on April 8, 2022, according to the letter. Masters parked the vehicle at an apartment complex at 4950 South State Street and then fled on foot, leading the officer on a foot chase that lasted “over a minute” to a roadway on Intermountain Medical Center property, the letter states.
The arrest
When Masters arrived at the roadway, he stopped running, and the officer ordered him to show his hands, according to the letter. Masters then apologized to the officer and complied with his commands, moving to a prone position on the ground as the officer called for backup, according to the letter.
Masters then told the officer repeatedly that he couldn’t breathe, didn’t have any weapons, and continued to apologize while following the officer’s commands, according to the letter.
Masters was still lying prone on the ground at this point, and then brought his hands underneath his chest as he continued to say that he couldn’t breathe, according to the letter. The officer then moved to hold Masters down on the ground, with his hands on Masters’ upper back and right arm, and his knee on Masters’ lower back, the letter states.
The officer ordered Masters to look to his left and put his hands out so the officer could handcuff him, according to the letter. Another responding officer then helped hold Masters in place with his hands on Masters’ left arm and upper back.
The initial arresting officer then stepped away as the second officer placed Masters on his side in the “recovery position,” about 40 seconds after the initial officer first made physical contact with Masters, according to the letter.
This position places an individual on their side or sitting up, and officers must monitor breathing and other health concerns until the arrested person can be transported, according to Salt Lake City police policy. Murray Police Department’s policy manual did not have a definition of “recovery position,” but did state individuals should not be placed on their stomachs for an “extended period,” as this could impact their ability to breathe.
The second officer then asked Masters his name, and explained he was “on his side so he could breathe,” and that they were going to check Masters for weapons and then sit him up. That officer and an additional responding officer then searched Masters while he remained on his side.
When the two officers had completed their search, one of the officers attempted to sit Masters up, but his “weight fell to the ground.” An officer then requested dispatch send medical personnel to the scene, according to the letter.
Officers pulled Masters to a nearby curb, held him upright and monitored his pulse and breathing until medical personnel arrived. Masters was then taken to the Intermountain Medical Center Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later at 12:12 a.m on April 9.
The ruling
A report from the Utah Medical Examiner’s office determined Masters died from cardiac arrhythmia, which developed after he exerted himself on the foot chase and was then restrained in handcuffs, according to the letter. Masters was hypertensive and under the influence of methamphetamine at the time, and he also suffered from heart disease, the report concluded.
Officers later found a substance in Masters’ car that was “consistent with methamphetamine,” according to the letter. The report does not state whether the substance was confirmed to be methamphetamine. The vehicle was also still registered to a previous owner, and had a license plate that did not belong to the vehicle, according to the letter.
“In summary, the combination of the physical exertion he experienced during the foot chase, his severe heart disease, and methamphetamine toxicity culminated in his development of a cardiac arrhythmia and death,” said Dr. Lily Marsden, with the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner, according to the letter.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill wrote in the letter that his office does not believe the case fall within the definition of an “officer-involved critical incident,” and declined to file charges against the officers.
“While Mr. Masters’s death occurred after he was taken into custody, we do not believe it likely that Mr. Masters’s death resulted from any factor other than disease and/or natural causes,” Gill wrote in the letter. “We are not aware of any facts which would support a finding that the officers used unreasonable or unnecessary force during the pursuit, detention, or arrest of Mr. Masters.”
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