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Salt Lake County DA Clears West Valley Officer in Jan. 1 Killing During Parents' Stabbing

The announcement emphasized systemic gaps in mental health care that left warning signs unaddressed before the New Year's Day killings.

Overview

  • District Attorney Sim Gill said Friday he will not file charges, finding the officer's use of deadly force legally justified after reviewing 911 audio, body-camera footage, and scene evidence.
  • West Valley officer Daniel Nielson fired two rounds that killed Erik Roland Bertelsen about 30 seconds after officers arrived, after seeing him through a basement window.
  • A 911 call stayed open for nearly 15 minutes and captured the attack on Terri Bertelsen, 63, and Kerry Bertelsen, 67, whom officers found gravely wounded in the home.
  • Gill said Bertelsen was in acute mental health crisis following his Dec. 17 parole, with reported self-medication and multiple involuntary psychiatric holds in the weeks before the incident.
  • Calling the tragedy preventable, Gill urged system improvements and highlighted new crisis resources such as Huntsman Mental Health Institute’s 24/7 services.