Family of Utah man killed by police had history with department

The mother of a Utah man shot to death by five police officers during a traffic stop Wednesday had sued the department last year over an eerily similar traffic stop of her own, according to a report.

Chase Allan, 25, was killed around 3:20 p.m. when Farmington cops pulled him over near the city’s post office for driving without a license and called for backup when he became “non-compliant,” the department said Thursday.

Cops said Chase “asserted his independence from the laws of the land” by telling officers he was not required to provide information to the officer or cooperate.

“During an attempt to remove the driver from the vehicle shots were fired and the driver was injured,” cops claim. Chase was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Chase’s mother, Diane Allan, claimed police pulled her over for the same reason in April 2022.

According to court records obtained by KSL News Radio, cops conducted a traffic stop for driving without a license and an expired registration.

As “one of the sovereign people of Utah” driving her own car in Farmington, Diane argued she had an “inherent right” to “access the public roads without her Liberty restrained.”

Diane claimed police were not only resistant to her claims, but unprofessional and childish.

One of the officers allegedly threw “the paper citation through Plaintiff’s window” before walking away after she refused to hand over her license, registration, or insurance information to the police.

Even the Farmington police chief participated in the unethical behavior, she claimed — then-Lt. Eric Johnson allegedly took what she called “the Rescissioned citation” from her hands, crumpled it and tossed it in a trash bin while “threatening” to impound her car when she visited the department several days later.

Diane claims Chase stood with her in the lobby during the meltdown and witnessed the unprofessionalism that would cost him his life nearly a year later.

“Officers claim it was a routine traffic stop, yet the officer requested multiple other officers to the scene a couple blocks prior to the stop,” Chase’s family said in a statement Thursday.

“This resulted in the brutal murder of Chase at the hands of five Farmington Police officers, with them shooting him while he was still in his automobile and likely terrified for his safety.

The Allan family claims the police are “stonewalling” them and didn’t notify them of Chase’s death — they reportedly found out through the media.

On Friday, Chief Johnsen said the department was reviewing body camera footage of the deadly incident that indicates he was carrying a gun.

The videos — which have not been released to the public — allegedly show Chase with a holster on his right hip and a handgun lying on the driver’s-side floorboard, a statement obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune states.

Johnsen did not say whether Chase brandished or fired his weapon.