SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill will not pursue charges in connection to a 2024 officer-involved shooting in Salt Lake City.
The incident occurred on the evening of March 8, 2024, as police were attempting to arrest Nicholas David Sickler in the area of 2860 South 200 East. Officers with the Salt Lake City Metro Gang Unit set up unmarked vehicles around an apartment complex with a gated parking lot that had only one entrance.
Officers followed the 33-year-old Sickler inside as he pulled in with a stolen vehicle, later attempting to box him in. The situation escalated as Sickler attempted to flee, with one of the officers firing two shots into the vehicle as Sicker attempted to run him down.
Gill has previously criticized officers who fire at moving vehicles, but when asked what made this case different, he said the bullet's trajectory through the vehicle made it clear that the officer was responding to a visible threat.
"The trajectory becomes really important because that first shot and the fact that it went through the windshield and shattered the back window becomes relevant," said Gill. "In order for him to have that angle, the vehicle had to be facing [the officer]."
Sickler was able to flee the scene, later abandoning the stolen vehicle. He was found later that evening in a backyard and arrested. He has since accepted a plea deal and is set to be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
