Death of woman in Salt Lake police custody ruled a homicide, under investigation

NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah —The death of a woman restrained by four Salt Lake police officers in January is under investigation by the department’s officer involved critical incident protocol.

Officers encountered Megan Joyce Mohn on Jan. 11 near 900 North, 400 West around 3:30 a.m.. She died on Jan. 30 in a hospital.

On July 28, the State Office of the Medical Examination sent an autopsy report to police that ruled Mohn’s death was a homicide.

The officer-involved critical incident team became involved on July 29.

A Salt Lake City Police Department release said:

“A thorough investigation is being conducted by an outside agency, pursuant to the OICI protocol. Additionally, the Salt Lake City Police Department’s internal Affairs unit will conduct a separate investigation.”

Thursday police released the body camera video of three officers who were on the scene with Mohn. A fourth officer was there but he did not have a camera.

“The exact moment in time when the first officer encountered Ms. Mohn is unknown at this time because the first officer did not have a body-worn camera,” the release states.

That officer was the first officer to interact with Mohn. He was working a ‘secondary employment shift.’ The body cam video shows him explaining the situation to the other officers.

Today, we announced the activation of the officer-involved-critical-incident protocol to conduct a death investigation following a January 11, 2022 incident involving our officers and a 40-year-old woman.

Press release: https://t.co/0anBxZZt2m#slc #slcpd #saltlakecity pic.twitter.com/SBNxBDKznO

— Salt Lake City Police (@slcpd) July 30, 2022

He said Mohn was trying to get into a gated and locked fueling station. He talked to some drivers in the area.

“They inform me that she’s running circles in traffic. She’s got two sticks, one’s metal and she’s trying to hit cars.”

The video started with Mohn kneeling with her hands secured behind her back.She was breathing hard and then start to scream, “Help. Help me!”

One of the officers asked, “What’s your name? You’re going to go to jail if you don’t give us your name.”

Mohn never gave her name to the officers.

She asked, “Will one of you use your phone to call police?”

“We are the police,” an officer said.

“Yeah but I want to hear them confirm that,” she said.

She continued to struggle with the officers and yelled, “They’re going to kill me, help me!”

She yelled for help several additional times as the officers tried to calm her. Officers eventually wrangled her onto her belly. One of the officers pinned her down with his knee on her back.

Several times Mohn was heard talking to the officers but her voice became weaker and it was muffled.

About five minutes and 40 seconds into the video she kicked hard and the officers tried to gain control of her again. Thirty seconds later one of the officers asks another to cuff her legs.

Approximately 7 minutes and 10 seconds into the video it’s clear that Mohn was unresponsive.

“Officers, as depicted on body-worn camera video, started performing medical assistance,” the release states.

The videos end with the officers rolling Mohn onto her back.

“All videos end when the officers start rendering first aid,” according to the statement.

Chief Mike Brown offered this statement:

“The Salt Lake City Police Department expresses its condolences to Ms. Mohn’s family. Ensuring we have a comprehensive investigation into this matter is critical. This case involves many complex factors. I look forward to the full report of the officer-involved-critical-incident and our department’s internal affairs investigation. Our officers work tirelessly every day to live up to the expectations of our community and to fulfill their duties as police officers and public servants. I know they are committed to their jobs and have a strong dedication to our community.”

An ambulance then transported Mohn to the hospital. She was in critical condition and later died.