After over two years of hoping and ready {that a} Salt Lake Metropolis Civilian Assessment Board would provide justice for a stabbing sufferer allowed to bleed out for minutes beneath the eyes of law enforcement officials, a household is left with extra heartbreak.
The board concluded “no dedication is feasible” in opposition to the officers who had been accused of withholding important assist that might have prevented the loss of life of Ryan Outlaw, who died in November 2020.
For eight minutes Salt Lake Metropolis officers Ian Anderson and Jadah Brown stood by and watched as Outlaw misplaced blood in a constructing elevator. Outlaw had already been ready for greater than 20 minutes after he’d been stabbed earlier than the police arrived on the scene.
Associated: ‘What Am I Presupposed to Do?’: Salt Lake Metropolis Officers Stand By and Watch Stabbing Sufferer Bleed As a result of They Didn’t Need an Elevator Door to Shut. The Father of 4 Dies.
As an alternative of using their medical coaching, body-camera footage reveals one of many Salt Lake officers scrolling via social media and taking part in video games on his cellphone moments after refusing to supply first assist to Outlaw, who was slowly dying in entrance of him.
At one level, officers inform him to crawl out of the elevator, however they by no means as soon as moved to attempt to cease his bleeding.
The lady who stabbed Outlaw in a home squabble was current and might be heard asking the officers, “You’re not doing something about it.”
“What am I alleged to do? We now have medical coming,” Officer Anderson snapped on the lady.
The Salt Lake Metropolis Police Division did an inside investigation, and even with the video proof of the cops doing nothing, investigators cleared them of wrongdoing, in response to native station Fox 13.
Earlier than the investigation was full, officers like Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Chief Mike Brown threw their assist behind the officers, commending them on following correct departmental coverage and process.
“Our officers, we consider, did as they had been educated,” the mayor beforehand stated.
The chief would inform reporters, “I stand by these officers and what they did that day. I feel they did a fantastic job.”
The chief spoke to the press in regards to the officers, however SLCPD by no means notified Outlaw’s household to allow them to know the outcomes of the inner affairs investigation clearing the officers.
The SLC Civilian Assessment Board, a panel appointed by the mayor, performed an investigation additionally. Just like the division, the board was unable to pin fault on the 2 officers. It reviewed proof just like the physique digital camera video, interviews, and written experiences and nonetheless got here to a ruling of “no dedication is feasible” resulting from “inadequate proof.”
Not everybody believes that the officers shouldn’t be held accountable.
Nameless legislation enforcement sources tipped the native information channel in regards to the incident in 2020.
A couple of officers who spoke to Fox 13 beneath a promise of anonymity after listening to the remarks of the higher-ups stated they didn’t agree with the chief’s evaluation of the case. These officers say, in response to the information outlet, they might have rendered first assist to Outlaw. Nevertheless, they may not specific that publicly, fearing somebody within the division would retaliate in opposition to them.
Rae Duckworth, the working chairperson for Black Lives Matter Utah, has been supporting the household and combating for justice for Outlaw. However even she is discouraged, saying the selections legislation enforcement and officers are making show issues won’t change.
“We knew from the second (Chief Brown and Mayor Mendenhall) patted their officers on the again that there was not going to be justice for Ryan Outlaw,” Duckworth informed the station. “I noticed a disregard for human life bleeding out. That’s what I noticed.”
