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Residents press South Jordan Council for answers after officer-involved death; city attorney cites district attorney review
Summary
Multiple public speakers urged the City Council to release body-worn camera footage and pushed for accountability after the death of a man identified by family as Marcelo; City Attorney Ryan Luce said an outside investigation concluded and the case is under review by the district attorney, which controls release of footage.
Several residents used the City Council public-comments period to demand answers and accountability after the July officer-involved death of a man family members identified as Marcelo. Brian Gutierrez, who said he is Marcelo’s brother, directly urged officials to demand resignations and to release footage he described as crucial evidence. Other speakers, including a friend and a teacher, said the family had waited months for information and called for a thorough, transparent review.
The issue drew multiple emotional appeals. “Two Utahns are dead because of your team,” Brian Gutierrez said, calling on law enforcement leadership to resign. Michelle Leach, a local teacher who said she has known Gutierrez three years, asked the council to “advocate for the release of the footage” and to “demand a thorough and transparent investigation.” Keaton Harwood, who said he had met Marcelo a week before the incident, described Marcelo as physically limited and asked whether officers had appropriate tools and training to de-escalate.
City Attorney Ryan Luce responded during the meeting’s public-comment follow-up. Luce said an outside agency completed an investigation in August and turned its findings over to the Salt Lake County district attorney’s office. “We have pushed for that to be released as soon as possible multiple times. I understand the family has too,” Luce said, adding the city follows a countywide practice of not releasing body-worn camera footage while the district attorney reviews whether to file charges. He said the city and other municipalities (he noted Salt Lake City as an exception) defer release to the district attorney to avoid biasing potential jurors.
Luce described the investigative process in Salt Lake County as conducted by one of several outside protocol teams assigned in rotation; after those teams finish, the files move to the district attorney’s investigative review. He said the city has no role in deciding criminal charges and that, while the delay is regrettable, the timeline has not been abnormal in his experience. The district attorney’s office, Luce said, houses its own investigative team and determines whether to file charges.
No formal action or motion was taken by the council during the meeting on this item. Speakers asked councilmembers to press for transparency and the release of footage; the council did not direct staff to take a formal new step during the session.
The public comments and attorney’s response make clear the family’s request for quicker disclosure remains unresolved. The district attorney’s review, not the council, controls release of the investigative materials, Luce said.
