FARMINGTON, Utah — The mother of a man shot and killed by police in Farmington this week had sued the Farmington Police Department over a traffic stop of her own.

Chase Allan, 25, was killed Wednesday near the Farmington post office. According to police, Allan was pulled over for not having a license plate.

Allan’s mother, Diane Allan, sued the Farmington Police Department over a traffic stop in April.

According to court records, Diane Allan said the police had no right to conduct that traffic stop. Documents filed in federal court show Diane Allan believes Farmington’s rules don’t apply to her as an independent resident of the state of Utah.

Allan represented herself in filing the lawsuit. 

Mother of man shot in Farmington sues police 

As “one of the sovereign people of Utah,” driving her own vehicle in Farmington, Allan argued she had an “inherent right” to “access the public roads without her Liberty restrained,” she wrote in the suit. 

Allan claims those rights were violated on April 7, 2022, when police pulled her over. KSL found the citation filed in Utah’s justice courts alleging Allan did not have a license with her as she drove on an expired registration. 

While the police officers who stopped her cited the expired registration as the reason for the traffic stop, Allan disputed that reasoning. 

“Defendants wrongfully claim to have the right to enforce traffic codes in the face of Plaintiff’s Constitutional Rights,” Allan wrote. 

Allan’s lawsuit describes her refusal to provide her license, registration, or insurance information to the police. She describes one of the officers as throwing “the paper citation through Plaintiff’s window” before walking away. 

Lawsuit describes confrontation with Farmington police 

Later, she described going to the Farmington Police Department along with her son to hand-deliver what she called “the Rescissioned citation.” 

“A few hours later Plaintiff went to the FARMINGTON CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT with a witness, (Chase Allan) and hand delivered the Rescissioned citation,” Allan wrote. “DEFENDANT LT ERIC JOHNSEN came out to the lobby and asked how he could help plaintiff.” 

Police identified Chase Allan as the man shot and killed Wednesday outside the Farmington post office. 

Diane Allan went on to describe a verbal confrontation with Johnsen. She alleged he crumped her citation up and threw it in the trash as she watched. 

Johnsen, now the Farmington police chief, was a lieutenant at the time of Diane Allan’s traffic stop. She also named him along with several other individuals in the police department. She also named the city, the court system, and the Davis County Attorney. 

“DEFENDANT JOHNSEN then stated that if Plaintiff didn’t register her vehicle it would be impounded. The witness then stated ‘that’s a threat’ to which DEFENDANT JOHNSON [sic] replied ‘no, it’s a promise, it’s a promise’.” 

Allan claims Farmington police “declared war”

Allan claimed that Johnsen’s statement, warning her car could be impounded, amounted to “a declaration of war against Plaintiff,” according to the lawsuit. “Plaintiff notified DEFENDANT JOHNSEN that she had come into the department to resolve this matter peaceably.” 

Once the citations went to Utah’s justice court system, Allan alleges the prosecutor never responded to her motion to dismiss the case. She also claims the official court record contains perjury. Namely, by indicating she “refused to sign” the citations, arguing no one asked her to sign anything. Additionally, she claims the court does not have jurisdiction in her case. 

The federal government has filed multiple motions to dismiss the case, which Allan has appealed in motions of her own. As of March 3, 2023, it remained open. 

 

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