Family reacts to charges not filed in South Jordan officer involved shooting

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (ABC4.COM) — The Gutierrez family says they are disappointed and heartbroken that Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill decided against filing charges against the South Jordan officers that shot and killed Marcelo Gutierrez in June of 2024.

Marcelo’s brother, Bryan, says Marcelo struggled with mental health after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. He detailed, “He had no history of violence. He didn’t do drugs. He struggled with and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he was a well over 500-pound man.”

He needed help, not bullets.”
Bryan Gutierrez, Marcello’s brother

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DA Gill acknowledged the presence of a mental health struggle in his presentation Thursday morning saying, “I don’t like what happened here. This is a tragic loss. I have somebody who is clearly having a mental health issue. But at the same time, I’m also cognizant of the fact of the multiple attempts at less lethal that those officers deployed.”

The DA showed bodycam footage of the incident while outlining the officers backing away from Marcelo, attempting the taser three times, and asking him to put down the knife.

He said, “I can hear it in their voices and even to as [Officer] Tanaka is talking to himself, they’re genuinely trying to get help to Mr. Gutierrez. But you have somebody who does not have you know, who doesn’t let go of it till the very end.”

The family believes that due to Marcelo’s state, distance, and stature, he wasn’t an immediate threat to the officers and didn’t need to be shot.

Bryan explained, “I have to ask those in charge of the resources in our society, like what are we doing for the most vulnerable in our communities? Marcelo was not in the right mindset. He needed help, not *18 bullets.”

One of their main frustrations, they say, has been the process overall. Bryan says they’ve been left in the dark in the year this investigation has taken. He said, “I’m almost lost for words on how we were treated by this whole situation.”

He continued, “It’s not right to leave any family in the dark, and it’s just been a process of pain.”

*The DA’s office says the officers fired a total of 14 shots.