DAVIS COUNTY, Utah – Davis County attorneys will not be prosecuting the officer who shot a woman in the eye last November.
Police say a Morgan County deputy spotted a pickup truck in Weber Canyon with a headlight out and attempted to pull it over, but the driver, identified as Kristine Nicole Biggs, took off, leading deputies on a chase along I-84 through several counties.
Officers set down spike strips, puncturing Biggs’ tires, but she was able to drive for another eight miles before finally making a U-turn just off the highway. According to the Davis County Sheriff’s Department, she crashed the truck into a pair of Morgan County vehicles.
Morgan County Sgt. Daniel Scott Peay fired a single shot through the truck’s windshield after Biggs failed to reply and kept ramming the vehicle, said Capt. Kenneth Payne, Davis County Sheriff’s Office.
Biggs suffered an injury to her nose and left eye.
The Davis County attorney says the use of deadly force by Peay wasn’t necessary but they won’t be pressing charges.
“An objective and impartial analysis concludes that the use of potentially lethal force in shooting Kristine Biggs was not necessitated by the facts. However, [Utah Code number] does not specify a criminal penalty for a situation where the use of force by a peace officer is not justified under the particular section itself,” the Davis County Attorney’s Office conclusion letter read.
The letter says that after reviewing evidence, including dash cam video, interviews with officers and Sgt. Peay, he felt that Biggs’ aggressive behavior posed an ongoing risk and that he felt the deadly force was justified.
“After reviewing all of the evidence…it is clear that Sgt. Peay’s subjective hypothetical concerns, fears and analysis of the situation…drove his decision to end the situation with the use of deadly force.”
Biggs pleaded guilty to DUI. She is set to be sentenced on Feb. 25.
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