Lonnie Marcel Bowen, 41
Magna, Utah
April 17, 2018
Agencies: Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake Utah
Cause of death: Not Yet Known
Last updated: over 5 years ago
Overview 
On Tuesday April 17, 2018, Lonnie Marcel Bowen, 41, of Salt Lake City, was shot by a Unified police officer following a 911 call from a man threatening to stab a woman and a police chase.
The incident began about 3 a.m. when emergency dispatchers received a call from an "agitated" man who said, “Tell your officers to back off, or I will shove this knife through her throat," said Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke.
Police began looking for a pickup truck, which was spotted an hour later by West Valley police.
The ensuing chase ended near the intersection of 2700 South and 8400 West about 4:15 a.m. after West Valley police successfully spiked the tires on the truck, Lohrke said. A Unified police officer approached the vehicle. When he got there, he saw something that prompted him to fire at least one shot, but investigators have not elaborated on what that was.
A woman who was also in the truck, possibly being held hostage, suffered minor injuries and was treated at a hospital. Those undisclosed injuries, Lohrke said, happened before the shooting and were inflicted by Bowen.
According to police reports obtained by the Deseret News through a public records request, that incident came on the heels of a very similar incident just five days earlier.
On April 12, a woman claimed that Bowen "forced her to drive him around throughout the night … while at one point holding her with his arm around her neck while placing a screwdriver to her throat and threatening to kill her if she tried to get away or call police," according to a Salt Lake City police report.
The woman told police that Bowen made her drive from Magna to LDS Hospital twice, allegedly because he "needed meds," the report states.
"(The woman) stated Lonnie became increasingly paranoid, violent and threatening to her during the drive and upon arrival, refused to go inside," according to the report.
Legal Action
In October 2018, the Salt Lake District Attorney determined that the use of force was justified.
Additional Resources:
- https://gephardtdaily.com/local/district-attorney-use-of-deadly-force-by-unified-officer-in-magna-justified/ added October 26, 2018 15:59
- https://ksltv.com/394174/man-killed-officer-involved-shooting-shared-disdain-police-said-expected-die/ added April 25, 2018 01:04
- https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/apr/20/man-shot-while-holding-hostage-had-claimed-mental-/ added April 25, 2018 01:04
- https://www.ksl.com/article/46301577/man-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-in-magna- added April 25, 2018 01:04
- http://gephardtdaily.com/breaking/exclusive-officials-id-man-killed-in-magna-ois-say-he-likely-posted-videos-calling-police-killers/ added April 25, 2018 01:04
- https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/04/17/unified-police-officer-shot-and-killed-a-person-in-magna-early-tuesday/ added April 25, 2018 01:04
- https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900016322/reports-man-killed-by-police-exhibited-paranoid-behavior-in-weeks-leading-up-to-shooting.html added April 20, 2018 22:54