Over and over again, Salt Lake County residents hear their district attorney give elaborate excuses for not prosecuting police who unjustifiably use deadly force.
Last week District Attorney Sim Gill described police shooting an unarmed 13-year-old boy as an “unjustified use of force.” Despite this admission, Gill claimed his office could not take the case to trial because a new self-defense statute posed too high a bar for him and his prosecutors. Gill held a 90-minute press conference excusing his inaction, which is in stark contrast to how his office normally conducts business.
Every day the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office ceaselessly files charges against people who have legitimate defenses, including those with self-defense claims. These prosecutions proceed against defendants — often at disparate rates — who are Black, Latinx, Indigenous and poor. For these people there will be no press conference explaining a lack of prosecution. But when it comes to police who use unjustified force, Gill has simply abandoned his duty to protect the community.
It is also a double standard. When it comes to gun-related crimes, Gill said, “if you’re going to commit crime in Salt Lake County with the possession of a gun . . . you will be aggressively prosecuted.” That professed standard should apply to everyone in Salt Lake County, even the police. In the eyes of justice, a police officer is the same as every other person and should be held to the same standard. That is especially true when the district attorney acknowledges that a police officer’s conduct was unjustified. But it simply is not the case. It is also ironic that Gill tried to make felons out of protestors who painted a street red but fails to prosecute police that unjustifiably shed blood on the street.
To find more examples of prosecutors failing to hold police accountable you need only drive around Fleet Block in Salt Lake City. There you will literally see the faces of people killed by police in Utah, including my cousin Bobby Duckworth. Unfortunately, this is not only a Salt Lake County problem and almost none of our families have had their day in court. What is particularly frustrating about Gill is that he is supposedly a progressive prosecutor that should be willing to take a stand against police brutality.
Sim Gill does not use his position of power and influence to take a stand against police violence. He does not use his prosecutorial discretion to provide justice to victims of police shootings. He has ignored demands for justice from Black, Indigenous and communities of color while continuing to over prosecute and overcharge these communities. In so-called progressive Salt Lake City, we see a mayor, police chief and prosecutor who consistently stand behind bad and deadly police practices, including when police refused to provide lifesaving care to a Black domestic violence victim.
It is 2023, three years after our nation erupted in protest over the police murder of George Floyd, and we are still witnessing Salt Lake County families left with medical bills and unanswered trauma from police shootings. Families hear Gill give lengthy press conferences about unjustified shootings but are left confused why no charges were filed. His office leaves our community to pick up the pieces and support families of police violence as best we can. As we try to heal, we watch Gill’s office — along with the Salt Lake City mayor and police chief — protect problem police.
We have raised our concerns and shared our heartache with the Salt Lake County district attorney and the Salt Lake City mayor, and nothing changes. But change is necessary to make our communities safer and rebuild trust that has been destroyed by inaction. This begins with the upcoming mayoral election on November 21, 2023, and continues to the district attorney election in 2026.
Demand action from our elected officials to hold police accountable and bring justice to victims of police shootings.
Rae Duckworth
Rae Duckworth is the operating chairperson of Black Lives Matter Utah.