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Editor's note: This video contains graphic content that some may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.PAROWAN, Iron County — An officer-involved shooting in June has been found not justified, but the officer who shot a woman in the leg during a suspected robbery will not face criminal charges, according to the Iron County Attorney's Office.
According to a letter from Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett to the Enoch City Police chief that was released Monday, the officer, Enoch City Police Cpl. Jeremy Dunn, did not have reason to believe deadly force was needed to stop the woman.
"While the suspect was armed with a screwdriver and being non-compliant by failing to follow officer's commands, including multiple commands to drop the screwdriver, it cannot objectively be stated that the officers or anyone else were in danger of death or serious bodily injury at the exact moment that lethal force was used," he said.
Iron County Sheriff's Lt. Del Schlosser said Monday that the officer's status with the department is unknown, but a statement could be released Tuesday.
Body camera footage released Monday shows the woman, Ivonne Casimiro, 29, was not advancing on Dunn when, moments after an unsuccesful attempt to stun her with a Taser, he pulled out a gun and shot her.
Casimiro survived the shooting and was booked into jail after being treated at an area hospital.
On June 28, officers received calls about a woman and a man "actively burglarizing vehicles" at the Parowan Travel America, near 1150 N. 100 West, according to the Iron County Sheriff's Office.
When an officer approached and started talking to the pair, the woman, "had taken a swipe at (the officer) twice with a screwdriver" that was in her hand, but the officer backed up and placed distance between himself and the suspects, Garrett wrote in the letter.
That officer held the woman off as he waited for backup, according to the letter.
Dunn arrived at the scene and, within three minutes, fired three shots at the woman, hitting her in the leg, Garrett said.
Footage from Dunn's body camera, which was also released, shows Dunn arrive as the other officer is speaking to two people. Casimiro is seen holding an object in her hand and yelling.
As he approaches, Dunn joins in the effort to talk Casimiro down, asking, "Well, I would say it's a good idea to put the screwdrivers down, right?"
She does not put the screwdriver down but instead continues to argue with the officers, waving around the screwdriver as she yells. Dunn tells her, "I'm trying to give you a chance."
When she turns her back to the two officers and prepares to walk away, Dunn insists, "You're not free to leave."
The woman turns back around and continues her rant, including statements of, "Go ahead and blow" and "I can never, ever die."
Dunn answers back as she speaks, "You come in here with that knife, I guarantee I'll smoke you."
Related:
Person suspected in vehicle burglary injured in officer-involved shooting
A person suspected in a vehicle burglary suffered injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening after they were shot by an officer during an altercation with police Thursday morning, officials said.Casimiro continues to argue with the officers while holding the screwdriver.
On suggestion from the other officer, Dunn tries unsuccessfully to use his Taser on Casimiro, who is wearing a heavy coat. As she tugs at the Taser's wires, Casimiro taunts, "Did it work? Did it work?"
"Didn't work, did it?" Dunn replies.
"OK, that's all I've got for the Taser," Dunn remarks. He then takes a deep breath and pulls out his gun, then fires three shots without warning.
Two shots strike Casimiro in the knee. She doesn't cry out, but drops to the ground. As the officers shout and move in, she lets go of the screwdriver.
According to the county attorney, Dunn said he shot Casimiro in the leg "as a last effort to save her life."
"Corporal Dunn believed that the situation was escalating and Casimiro was just about to make the officers shoot her. … Corporal Dunn confirmed that this type of shooting is inconsistent with his training and that he would not recommend that others take this kind of a shot. However, he felt that he was skilled enough to make this shot as he had done it before," Garrett writes.
Garrett notes that the woman "never advances" or makes verbal threats to the officers or bystanders in the video. She also was not armed with a gun. Because of that, Garrett states, "it was not objectively reasonable for Corporal Dunn to use deadly force to prevent death or serious bodily injury to an officer or another person."
Officers can use deadly force "only if there is probable cause to believe that there is a threat of serious harm to the officer," Garrett writes.
However, "Even though the shooting was not legally justified, the state would not be able to prove the requisite criminal intent for a criminal charge," he said.
Following the incident, Casimiro, of Las Vegas, was charged in 5th Distinct Court with assault on an officer and having a stolen vehicle, second-degree felonies; two counts of vehicle burglary, a class A misdemeanor; and interfering with an arrest, a class B misdemeanor. Her next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Casimiro remains in custody in Iron County Jail.
