This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has cleared a Unified Police officer in the fatal shooting of a Magna man who was reportedly suicidal and wielding a retractable razor knife.
Unified Police Officer Martin Berdaguer believed his life was in danger when Luis Quintana charged at him with the knife on Oct. 25, according to a letter from District Attorney Sim Gill to Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder.
Officers had responded to Quintana's home near 8400 West and 3500 South after his family called, according to a letter from the attorney's office. He had left while they made the call.
When officers spoke to his family, "they said no one was assaulted and they were satisfied that Quintana was gone," the letter reads. The officers couldn't find him and left on a similar call nearby.
Quintana returned to his home a few minutes later, and "this time, Quintana began acting violently, cutting himself with a knife." Berdaguer arrived shortly after to find Quintana standing on the porch, covered in blood, cutting himself with a knife, according to the letter.
Berdaguer told investigators that he drew his gun, but held it at his side "so as to not provoke Quintana or escalate the situation," the letter reads. Quintana walked out into the street and squared off with him, Berdaguer said.
Berdaguer said he then ordered Quintana to "just drop the knife," but he instead walked away from the officer a short distance, then stopped and adopted a "fighting stance." Berdaguer said he pointed his gun at Quintana and ordered him to stop and drop the knife several times, the letter adds.
Quintana turned and ran away, with Berdaguer pursuing him at a distance, then stopped suddenly, turned around to face Berdaguer and cut his own throat three times while Berdaguer yelled "No, no, no!" according to the letter.
"Berdaguer said he was in fear for his life and believed Quintana was 'crazy,' " the letter reads. "… Quintana then ran full speed directly at Berdaguer with the knife still in his hands. Berdaguer said he believed deadly force was necessary to stop Quintana.
Berdaguer said he fired his weapon at Quintana and saw the first round hit Quintana in the chest. That shot did not stop Quintana who continued to run at Berdaguer. Berdaguer said he believed he fired four to five rounds at Quintana who now, much closer to Berdaguer, began to fall down and landed in a fetal position in the road.
A neighbor, Patty Christensen, told investigators that she heard Berdaguer trying to calm Quintana and heard him say "drop the knife, you don't want to do this," according to the letter. Christensen estimated that Quintana was about 6-10 feet from Berdaguer when he shot him.
Quintana's longtime partner, Jodi Phillips, previously told The Salt Lake Tribune that he began to struggle with depression after a family dispute in May. In September, police and medics were called after Quintana tried to overdose on prescription drugs, and after foot surgery in October, a new antidepressant seemed to be making him aggressive, Phillips said.
"He was off the wall," she said. "He was agitated. Anything was pissing him off. And he wasn't sleeping."
On the day of the shooting, Quintana had slept only six of the previous 48 hours, Phillips said. After a fight over yard work, Phillips told him to leave the house, go for a drive, and cool off.
"But that day, he just didn't seem to calm down," Phillips said. "He told me I didn't love him, that I didn't care. He thought I was against him. I was trying to help him, but Luis wanted to fight everybody who was in the way."
Phillips said she also has sympathy for the officer, whom she heard crying after the shooting.
"I feel for the cop, too. Don't get me wrong. This changed his life, too," she said. " … But I'll always question whether the [911] call was right. I'll always second-guess that. I'll never, ever call 911 in a situation like that again."
Including Quintana's death, Utah police have shot and killed 13 people this year. Of those whose investigations have ended, none have been ruled unjustified.
Twitter: @mikeypanda