Mother of Utah man shot dead by police claimed to be ‘sovereign citizen’ in similar traffic stop a year before

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The mother of a man killed by Utah police considered herself a “sovereign citizen” in a lawsuit against the same law enforcement department that took her son’s life.

Chase Allan, 25, was fatally shot on 1 March during a traffic stop in Farmington, north of Salt Lake City. Following the tragedy, his family said in a statement that they found out about the “brutal murder” through the news and claimed that police had been unwilling to answer their questions.

It has since emerged that Allan’s mother Diane Killian Allan claimed in a September 2022 lawsuit that she is a sovereign citizen and is not under the jurisdiction of Farmington City or any United States government, local ABC4 first reported. The suit, reviewed by The Independent, stemmed from an April 2022 traffic stop for Diane Killian Allan expired vehicle registration — the same reason her son would be stopped a year later.

While it is unclear whether Chase Allan considered himself a sovereign citizen, a press release last week by Farmington Police stated that he “asserted his independence from the laws of the land” and refused to cooperate with officers. According to the Justice Department, members of the Sovereign Citizen Movement (SCM) are “an extreme anti-government movement whose members believe the government has no authority over them.”

Five police officers have been placed on administrative leave following the officer-involved shooting. Farmington Police said an investigation is underway.

“During an attempt to remove the driver from the vehicle shots were fired and the driver was injured,” the department said in a statement.

Bodycam footage from the incident allegedly shows a handgun in Allan’s vehicle, the Deseret News reported.

“At that time an observing officer yelled out the words, ‘Gun, gun, gun!’ A struggle, which appeared to last only seconds, ensued and gunshots could be heard,” police described in a statement.

Authorities said that responding officers asked for backup after Allan refused to exit the vehicle. Bodycam footage of the shooting has not been released.

Back in September, Diane Killian Allan said she had an “inherent right” right to travel in Farmington without being stopped by police. She also claimed in the lawsuit that after asserting her “inherent right,” she had a heated argument with the now-police chief Eric Johnsen and he then through the paper citation through her window.

Chase Allan, who would be killed nearly a year later by the same police department, was named as a witness in the lawsuit. He and his mother visited the Farmington Police department to return the “rescissioned citation” he had thrown inside her car.

“[Johnsen] then stated that if Plaintiff didn’t register her vehicle it would be impounded. The witness then stated ‘that’s a threat’ to which [Johnsen] replied ‘no, it’s a promise, it’s a promise,’” the lawsuit read.

Allan’s family told Fox 13 News last week that after his “devastating and tragic” death, police “stonewalled” them.

Diane Killian Allan told the local TV station in a statement that “our family has not been permitted to see Chase and has not been contacted by authorities or justice departments with information surrounding this investigation”.

“Our family was not properly notified of Chase’s death as next of kin. We found out about Chase’s death along with the entirety of our community via news reporters and articles written online,” she added.

Allan graduated from Davis High School in 2016 and went on to play soccer at the University of California, Davis and Utah State University.

His mother said he had recently been studying law. She wrote that he “was a gracious, loving soul who was known by everyone in his community to be caring, thoughtful, and kind and would do anything for someone in need”.

“He was always selflessly helping and protecting others in need,” she added.

Diane Killian Allan wrote that her son was “likely terrified for his safety” during the shooting. She added that law enforcement discharged their weapons at his car at least 12 times.

Allan was living at home in the area where he grew up at the time of his death.

“Although he had a shy and quiet demeanor, he was able to make quick friends who cared about Chase deeply and will remember him fondly,” his mother wrote.

She added that he “was a patriot doing what he could to defend the people’s freedom and liberty in his community”.

The mother said the family has “learned more from media coverage about what occurred than anywhere else” and that “officers claim it was a routine traffic stop, yet the officer requested multiple other officers to the scene a couple blocks prior to the stop”.

“This resulted in the brutal murder of Chase at the hands of 5 Farmington Police officers, with them shooting him while he was still in his automobile and likely terrified for his safety. They shot 12 plus rounds at him while he was still inside the car with the engine running and lights on when reporters arrived,” she said.

The Independent has reached out to the Farmington Police Department for comment.