A police officer with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office was speeding in an unmarked car when he struck and killed Joseph Spencer in 2021, the family of the 22-year-old man alleged Dec. 8 in a legal claim filed to the county.
The officer has not been criminally charged in connection with the fatal wreck. The Summit County Attorney’s Office said Monday that it plans to announce early next week whether the officer will face criminal charges.
The Salt Lake Tribune obtained the Spencer family’s notice of claim — the first step toward filing a lawsuit or reaching a settlement with a government agency — on Wednesday through a public records request. The document identifies the officer who crashed into Spencer in Provo on March 16, 2021, but The Tribune isn’t identifying him at this time.
Almost a year ago, The Tribune reported that Spencer, who was a student at Brigham Young University at the time, was pulling out of a parking lot at 433 North and 900 East in Provo when the officer crashed his personal truck into Spencer’s vehicle. Spencer was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy had been heading to the scene of a police standoff involving an armed man in Pleasant Grove.
Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the sheriff’s office confirmed at the time that the deputy’s black truck was not equipped with the lights, sirens and other equipment that police vehicles usually have.
The legal notice filed by the Spencer family alleges that the officer was driving 55 mph on 900 East, where the speed limit is 35 mph. The notice also alleges that the deputy “braked his vehicle and negligently steered his vehicle to the left,” causing him to collide with Spencer’s car in the southbound lanes of 900 East.
The crash was investigated by the Provo Police Department. Randall Spencer, the attorney representing the Spencer family, told The Tribune on Wednesday that the legal notice filed in December referenced a report prepared by a crash reconstruction expert hired by Provo police.
Randall Spencer said the family hasn’t received a response to its legal claim and intends to file suit.
Sgt. Cannon with the county sheriff’s office declined to comment Wednesday on the legal claim, but he extended condolences to the Spencer family.
Joseph Spencer was “quiet and easygoing, but quick-witted,” reads his online obituary. “He had an infectious laugh and smile, and he loved to make others laugh.”
Spencer liked fantasy novels and movies, video games, theater, music and role-playing games, his obituary reads, and he enjoyed spending time with his large family.
The Utah County Attorney’s Office announced Feb. 1 that it was transferring the case to the Summit County Attorney’s Office for a final charging decision. The Utah County Attorney’s Office serves as civil attorney to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, the February news release noted.
Utah County attorney David Leavitt said in the release that his office wants Summit County attorney Margaret Olson to review the case and make the charging decision with “objectivity and fairness.”
