CLINTON -- The Davis County Attorney's Office has cleared three police officers in the Nov. 5 shooting death of Paulo Berumen.
A letter signed by Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, dated Nov. 18, was received by Clinton Police Chief Bill Chilson on Monday.
"Detectives Bryan Haywood and Shawn Stoker acted appropriately," Rawlings wrote in the letter.
Rawlings said video and audio from a Taser helped investigators come to a quick conclusion.
"What you could hear and see on the video, which was built into a Taser that was deployed, was consistent with statements made by witnesses and all other evidence," Rawlings said.
The two Clinton police detectives, along with Sunset Police Sgt. Bruce Arbogast, responded to a 911 call on Nov. 5 regarding a domestic violence situation at 1044 W. 1640 North, Clinton.
Officers used Tasers on Berumen, who was in his backyard holding a large knife, but it did not affect him because he was wearing thick clothing, officers said at the scene.
Haywood and Stoker then shot the 34-year-old man, who was charging them with the knife. Berumen was pronounced dead at the scene.
Arbogast arrived at the scene as backup and to assist the Clinton officers, Chilson said.
Arbogast was put on a paid leave of absence for four days after the shooting and has since returned to work, said Sunset Police Chief Ken Eborn.
Haywood and Stoker have been on a paid leave of absence "to give them time to heal," Chilson said.
He said he does not know when the two will return to work.
When an officer shoots and kills a suspect, it affects not only the officer, but "everyone around them, their family, their mothers, their wives, their children, their brothers, sisters and cousins," Chilson said.
He said his prayers have gone out to Berumen's family.
Rawlings wrote in his letter that his office is "concerned for the emotions and welfare of the family of decedent Paulo Berumen, and deeply regrets the ending of his life."
He also wrote that investigators are "concerned for the emotions and welfare of the officers involved in this situation and their families."
According to the letter, all of the evidence, including audio and video recordings of the events that led to the shooting, substantiate that Berumen posed a real danger to officers and to others.
"Basically, my officers were totally justified in the taking of another person's life," Chilson said.
"No law enforcement officer wants to be the one that, because of the unfortunate actions of another, causes the loss of life."
Chilson said video from the Tasers was reviewed by the Davis County Attorney's Office and investigators from other police agencies.
Chilson said his agency has used Tasers for a number of years, but several years ago, he decided to buy new ones that include video cameras on the base of the stun weapon.
The video cameras can tape up to an hour of video and audio.
"I thought it could be used to observe the actions of the suspects who get tased," he said.
Rawlings said this was the first time he has seen a Taser video in connection with an officer-involved shooting.
He said investigators would have come to the same conclusion without the video, but it gave a "finality" to the conclusion.
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