Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has ruled that a Salt Lake City police officer was legally justified in shooting a 19-year-old man who appeared to raise a rock as if to throw it during a May 12, 2025, foot pursuit along railroad tracks. The suspect, Carlos Felipe Ocampo-Flores, survived the gunfire and later pleaded guilty to several charges tied to the chase and crash. Gill’s decision closes the county’s criminal review of the incident, even as it puts local pursuit tactics and use-of-force policies back under the microscope.
At a press conference announcing the decision, Gill said his office reviewed body-worn camera footage, investigative reports, and court records before concluding that the officer’s perception of imminent danger was reasonable, according to KSL. Gill pointed to the critical sequence in which the officer fell and the suspect lifted an object above him as key to that finding. The ruling follows an outside protocol review of the shooting and the department’s earlier release of video from the encounter.
Bodycam Shows Chase, Fall And Raised Object
The Salt Lake City Police Department released several body-worn-camera clips in May that show an attempted traffic stop near North Temple and 600 West, a crash into parked vehicles, and a later foot chase along railroad tracks near 100 South and 700 West, as outlined by the Salt Lake City Police Department. In the footage, an officer catches up to Ocampo-Flores, trips on the rocky ballast, and falls. From the ground, he shouts commands as the suspect stands over him, raises his right arm with an object, and appears to prepare to throw it. The officer then fires three shots. Backup officers use a Taser, medics treat Ocampo-Flores at the scene and he is taken to a hospital.
Charges, Plea And Sentence
Ocampo-Flores was initially charged with 16 counts and later convicted, under a plea deal, of four offenses: failing to stop for police, a third-degree felony; running from police and assault on an officer, both class A misdemeanors; and crashing into another car, a class B misdemeanor. He received a suspended prison sentence and three years of probation, KSL reports. Prosecutors say other counts were dismissed as part of the agreement. Ocampo-Flores told investigators he picked up a rock in an effort to scare the officer before the shots were fired.
What The Law Requires
Under Utah law, an officer’s use of deadly force is justified when the officer reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury, a standard set out in Utah Code §76-2-404, according to the Utah Legislature. That statutory threshold guided how Gill’s office weighed the totality of the circumstances recorded on video and described by witnesses. Because the district attorney concluded the officer’s fear met the legal standard, his office will not file criminal charges against the officer.
Local Context
Salt Lake City police released the bodycam video last spring, and an outside protocol team examined the officer-involved critical incident before the district attorney’s review. Suspect Identified In High-Speed Chase is Hoodline’s earlier account of the chase and the video release. While the DA’s ruling ends the county’s criminal review, it is likely to fuel continuing debates in Salt Lake City over police pursuits, de-escalation and department policy.
