An officer with the Department of Natural Resources was found legally justified in the April shooting of an armed suicidal man the officer had pulled over for reckless driving in Duchesne County. On April 15th, an “Attempt to Locate” was broadcast in the Uintah Basin after it was indicated that a potentially suicidal West Valley man, Joshua Boggess, could be traveling to Bandana Ranch in Duchesne County. Another “Attempt to Locate” was dispatched after a person reported seeing a black pickup truck driving recklessly on Highway 40 traveling east towards Duchesne. A Division of Natural Resources Officer located the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop after observing the truck swerving across the road. KSL reports that the Duchesne County Attorney’s Office provided more details of what happened in their determination. The report states, “Mr. Boggess informed officer Larsen that he was suicidal, to which officer Larsen replied, ‘I don’t want you to hurt yourself.’ At this point, Mr. Boggess turned off his truck and gave his keys to officer Larsen…Upon learning about the gun, officer Larsen told Mr. Boggess, ‘I want to get you away from the gun, because I don’t want you to kill yourself. Don’t reach for it.’ [Boggess replied,] ‘I’m either going to do it with that, or you’re going to do it with that (referring to the guns).’ ‘Joshua, do not do it. Joshua, don’t do it,’ Larsen told him. Mr. Boggess then reached for and grabbed the gun that was in the truck as officer Larsen opened the driver’s door to the truck.” Larsen repeatedly ordered Boggess to drop his gun. “Mr. Boggess then pointed the gun at officer Larsen. Officer Larsen reported he saw the slide and believed it to be a semi-automatic style handgun, and saw the bore point in his direction. In response, officer Larsen fired four shots in quick succession, followed by another three shots as he backed away from the driver’s door. Mr. Boggess was hit multiple times in the left elbow and multiple times in the abdomen.” Boggess’ injuries were not life threatening. He was charged with DUI and Aggravated Assault in 8th District Court. The report concluded that “Officer Larsen was justified in using deadly force because he either did or could have reasonably believed that firing his gun at Mr. Boggess was necessary to prevent Mr. Boggess from causing death or serious bodily injury to officer Larsen.”
