Last March, according to court documents, a Utah County Sheriff’s deputy speeding in his personal vehicle to the scene of a SWAT standoff crashed into another vehicle in Provo, killing its driver. On Monday, the Summit County Attorney’s Office charged that Utah County Sheriff's deputy, Joseph Richardson, with second-degree felony manslaughter.
The Utah County Attorney’s Office requested Summit County step in to screen the case for charges. That can happen when there are concerns about conflicts of interest. The Utah County Attorney’s Office represents the Sheriff’s Office in civil matters.
As of Wednesday, no defense attorney was listed for Richardson. Richardson, 53, has been on administrative leave since the incident.
According to the charging document, Richardson was responding to a standoff in Pleasant Grove in his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. About 5 seconds before the crash, he was traveling at about 55 mph in the right lane of a four-lane road with a 35 mph speed limit.
Just before the incident, a sedan driven by Joseph Spencer pulled out of a parking lot, trying to turn left across two lanes of traffic to head the opposite direction Richardson was traveling.
According to the charging document, Richardson accelerated two seconds before the collision. A half-second later, he braked and swerved to the left. The two vehicles collided in the middle turn lane.
According to the charging document, Richardson told an officer on scene that he had been heading to the SWAT incident.
“As I was coming down here I saw him start to pull out in front of me,” Richardson said, according to the charging document. “I shouldn't... I shouldn't have tried to beat him.”
The pickup hit the sedan on the driver’s door. Richardson got out of his vehicle and provided first aid to Spencer, but Spencer was pronounced dead at the scene.
Utah County Attorney David Leavitt said in a statement that multiple law enforcement agencies investigated the incident, then turned their findings over to Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson for a charging decision. Olson declined to comment about the charges.
Second-degree felonies carry a penalty of one to 15 years in prison.
Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said Richardson is a corrections deputy who worked in the county jail and was a member of the SWAT team. He said Richardson was responding to the standoff from home. Cannon added that the Utah County Sheriff’s policy is for deputies to obey all traffic laws when driving personal vehicles.
Cannon said he wasn’t sure whether Richardson was in custody, but said it would not be unusual for someone to remain free until charges are filed.
In a prepared statement, Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said the office can’t comment fully about the incident because of a pending lawsuit.
“This incident is a tragedy for all involved,” Smith said. “Our hearts are broken for the loss and pain this accident has caused.”
An initial court appearance has been scheduled April 6 in 4th District Court.
