Herriman police deemed as justified in officer-involved shooting in October

HERRIMAN – Two Herriman police officers will not face charges for opening fire in a deadly officer-involved shooting last October.  Prosecutors say body-cam video shows the suspect reached for a gun after being warned not to.

This started after a woman called 911 to report Isaac Christensen was outside her home in late October, claiming he was driving erratically in an attempt to intimidate her.  The woman, referred to as TN, already had a protective order against Christensen.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said, “A few minutes later, TN heard, again, Mr. Christensen, now parked in front of her house say, ‘Hey, I just want to talk to you.’”

However, court documents state other people had already called 911 after Christensen threatened them with a gun.

“Another person yelled, ‘He has a gun, go inside,’” Gill said.

When officers arrived, some reported hearing half a dozen gunshots, but they weren’t certain where the gunfire was coming from.  Shortly after that, they heard another round of gunfire and quickly found Christensen hiding under a van.  Gill said they still don’t know what Christensen was aiming at, but they saw two guns in front of him while he was under the vehicle.

Officers ordered Christensen to slide out from under the van and shouted at him to not reach for the weapon.  However, Gill said body-cam video shows Christensen made a move.

Gill said, “Mr. Christensen moved his hand quickly towards the gun lying on the ground.”

After the shooting, officers tried to keep Christensen alive until medics arrived, but he died at the scene. 

“When the suspect was pulled out, what was retrieved from there were two handguns, a knife and a lighter,” Gill said.

The Deseret News reported Christensen was charged with electronic communication harassment in June.