Ogden man shot while charging police receives prison sentences and probation
This photo taken from security camera footage shows a man identified as Gavin Johansen collapsing after being shot by an Ogden police officer Oct. 27, 2020. The video has been edited to highlight weapons carried by Johansen: a knife, circled in green, and a pellet gun, circled in red.
Johansen
OGDEN — A 19-year-old Ogden man who charged a police officer while holding a butcher knife and an air pistol has received two suspended prison sentences and will serve three years of probation.
The officer shot Gavin Johansen in the abdomen on Oct. 27, 2020, after the suicidal teen assaulted a friend and ran out the back door of his mother’s house.
Johansen pleaded guilty in March in a plea bargain with the Weber County Attorney’s Office, and 2nd District Judge Jennifer Valencia imposed sentences June 24, according to court records.
Johansen pleaded guilty to second-degree felony assault on a police officer and third-degree felony aggravated assault. Prosecutors in return dropped a weapons possession charge, which he faced because he had a juvenile record that prohibited him from having weapons.
Valencia imposed prison sentences of one to 15 and zero to five years, respectively, but suspended both. She further sentenced him to 52 days in county jail on each of the charges, granting him credit for time served, and ordered him to serve four years of probation.
The judge also ordered that Johansen complete the Live for Life Sequoia Residential Treatment Center program in West Jordan, which he began in December after being freed on bail.
During treatment, Johansen must wear an ankle monitor and be escorted to work or school. On probation, he will be subject to random drug tests and other close supervision by Utah Adult Probation and Parole.
Before sentencing, Johansen’s public defender said Johansen needs extensive treatment to be able to become functional in society. Valencia also ordered him to undergo moral reconation therapy.
According to charging documents, Johansen was staying at a proctor home in Layton on Oct. 27 while on probation for juvenile court convictions. He left the program and drove to his mother’s home in Ogden, calling an ex-girlfriend on the way and telling her he planned to kill himself.
Police were alerted, and as they arrived outside the home, Johansen’s younger sister came to the door and told them he was fighting with a family friend in the basement.
Police said the friend saw Johansen get a shotgun from a cabinet and told him to put it down, but he refused and they fought over the firearm. Johansen choked the friend with the shotgun.
Johansen then got an air pistol, resembling a handgun, and a butcher knife and ran out the basement door, ascending stairs to the backyard, where an officer ordered him to stop.
Johansen kept advancing and the officer fired several shots, hitting him once. He was arrested after he was released from the hospital.
In April, his brother, Parker Johansen, wrote a letter to the court urging that he be given treatment and a chance to heal.
“Gavin did not mean any harm” to others, Parker Johansen wrote. “He only meant to harm himself, no one else.”
The brother added,” I know he can change. Gavin is not a monster.”