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Killings by Utah Cops More Common Than Drug or Gang Homicides

The only cause of homicide more common than lethal force by law enforcement has been intimate domestic situations.
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A report this week from the Salt Lake Tribune revealed that police in Utah are responsible for more homicides than gangs, drug-related killings, and child abuse. Only intimate domestic partners are responsible for more homicides in Utah than the police.

The newspaper reviewed 300 homicide cases using media reports, state crime statistics, medical-examiner records and court records. The study found that 45 people had been killed by law enforcement officers in Utah since 2010, accounting for 15 percent of homicides.

Although domestic partners were responsible for more killings in that period, Utah law enforcement officers have ranked as the state's the highest cause of homicide so far this year, claiming 13 lives to date.

Of all the fatal police shootings reviewed, only one was officially deemed unjustified. In 2012, two West Valley city detectives faced criminal charges for the fatal shooting of Danielle Willard, an unarmed woman. Though the shooting remained unjustified, these charges were later thrown out by a judge.

Stay tuned in to the state of policing in America with VICE News' Officer Involved blog.