November 20, 2009

Utah deputy cleared in night club shooting

By Pat Reavy
Deseret Morning News

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has cleared an off-duty sheriff's deputy in a shooting at a Salt Lake club in September.

"A peace officer is justified in using deadly force when the officer reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person," the statement from the DA's office said.

Rudy Chacon, a narcotics detective for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, has been on standard paid administrative leave since a confrontation inside Green Street Social Club, 602 E. 500 South, on Sept. 18.

A fight broke out between two groups inside the club. At some point during the confrontation, Chacon shot John Junior "JJ" Pikula in the torso. Several other people also were injured in the melee. At least one other person in addition to Pikula was transported to the hospital in serious condition.

The DA's statement Thursday said "an associate of Mr. Pikula made unwelcome advances toward a female acquaintance of deputy Chacon, and a security guard attempted to direct Mr. Pikula and his group to another area of the club."

Pikula, however, picked up a bottle and "charged" toward one of Chacon's friends, according to the DA's office.

Security officers tried to escort Pikula out, but he broke away from them, ran at Chacon's group a second time — this time picking out Chacon's brother — and then slammed the brother into a wall and forced him to the ground. Pikula then struck "the brother multiple times in the head and face while the brother lay motionless on the ground," prosecutors said.

Fearing his brother would be seriously injured or killed, Chacon fired once at Pikula, striking him in the left side.

"When you're standing over your motionless brother's body, I don't know if (Chacon) had much choice, to be honest," said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson.

After the shooting, Pikula, who was celebrating at his bachelor party that night, and his family told the media the fight was over and had been broken up by bouncers before the deputy intervened. Pikula was taken to a local hospital, where he stayed in intensive care for a little more than a week.

There was no evidence to suggest Chacon was drunk or impaired at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said. After the shooting occurred, there was word that some or all of the incident might have been captured by the club's surveillance video.

"The video was helpful, but it didn't actually capture the incident in question," said deputy district attorney Alicia Cook.

The videotape captured neither the shooting or the brother being beaten, she said. However, based on the "enormous effort" that went into the investigation, she said her office was confident the use of force by Chacon was conducted in the defense of another.

The sheriff's office said Thursday that Chacon was still on standard paid administrative leave until an internal investigation, which could not proceed until the DA's office finished its report, is complete.

But Hutson added, "We don't foresee any policy violations which could result in termination."

Chacon, a 10-year veteran with the sheriff's office, was the department's "go-to guy" for narcotics.

"He's become somewhat of an expert in that field. He spends a lot of time educating the public on current trends," Hutson said.

Hutson also called Chacon one of the most even-tempered officers on the force, noting that he would be one of the last people anyone in the department would ever suspect of getting into an incident like the one that occurred at Green Street.

On Nov. 3, Pikula's brother, Arnold Pikula, was charged in 3rd District Court by the Salt Lake City Prosecutor's Office with sexual battery, assault against a police officer and interfering with an arrest for his actions at Green Street that night. All charges are misdemeanors.

A pre-trial conference for Pikula is scheduled for Tuesday.