Salt Lake City police on Tuesday released body camera footage of their attempt to stop Micheal Tyson Nance, who is charged with shooting an officer before killing his girlfriend.
While four officers’ cameras recorded from the scene earlier this month, footage from the camera that captured the woman’s death was not released, police spokeswoman Christina Judd said.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill requested the video remain private because it “would reasonably be expected to interfere with” prosecutors’ ongoing investigation, he said in a letter.
Nance, 31, has been charged with killing his girlfriend, Natalie Thurber, 34, and shooting and injuring a police officer on Feb. 10. He was arrested after apparently shooting himself in the face.
The released footage begins around 3:40 a.m., when police arrived at Thurber and Nance’s downtown apartment. Dispatcher sent officers to approximately 125 S. 300 East based on a cellphone ping after receiving an open-line 911 call from someone in that area who seemed to be in danger.
SLCPD Captain Richard Lewis said at a Tuesday news conference that a friend of Thurber’s also called police but gave them a wrong, nonexistent address: 119 S. 300 East.
Lewis said an officer searched for the apartment and followed the sounds of a “disturbance” to find the right one.
Body camera video shows an officer peering into the couple’s ground-level apartment window. He’s standing in a dimly lit parking lot, and kicks in the window in one swift motion.
“Police," he shouts, "drop it or I will shoot you right now. Let me see your hands.”
Moments later, shots ring out at officers. The officer whose camera is recording falls backward as he’s struck in the leg. Other officers surround him to help as police fire multiple rounds into the apartment.
(Photo courtesy of Salt Lake County jail) Micheal Nance.
Footage from another camera begins after the officer is shot and captures additional officers firing into the apartment. Another camera gets a glimpse inside the bathroom, where police blurred out a shot of Thurber’s body.
Video that wasn’t released Tuesday allegedly shows Thurber being shot or attacked, but charging documents say that the officer’s camera recorded Nance strangling Thurber, leaving the room momentarily and coming back and shooting her.
After the footage’s release, Thurber’s family released a statement asking for privacy.
“We respectfully ask the media and public not to focus on how she died but rather how she lived,” the statement read. “She was caring, funny, fiercely independent and had a love that knew no bounds.”
The family also thanked first responders and advocates who have helped them.
Nance, who left the home that night and was arrested later, is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Wednesday. He is being held in Salt Lake County jail without bail.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911. For more information and resources, the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition’s 24-hour hotline can be reached at 1-800-897-5465. The hotline is free and confidential.
