Attorney given report on Taser death

The investigation into the death of Brian Cardall following a confrontation with Hurricane police is one step closer to being complete.

The Washington County Critical Incident Task Force has forwarded its final report to Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap, according to a statement issued Monday by Jake Adams, the county's undersheriff.

The task force had been waiting on the autopsy report from the State Medical Examiner's Office before closing its review of the incident. Autopsy reports are protected records in Utah, made available only to law enforcement and the deceased's next of kin.

"We have forwarded this report along with all other investigative materials related to this case to the Washington County Attorney's Office for their review," Adams said. "This concludes the (task force's) investigation into this case."

The announcement came five months to the day since Cardall, 32, was stunned twice with a Taser by Hurricane police officer Kenneth Thompson.

On June 9, Anna Cardall called 911 dispatchers to describe a frantic scene of her husband taking off all of his clothes and running onto state Route 59 trying to either flag down vehicles or direct traffic. In a recording of the emergency call, she told dispatchers she was scared and worried her husband, who had a bipolar disorder, was going to be hit by a vehicle.

In the background, Brian Cardall could be heard screaming several nonsensical sentences.

In a separate emergency recording from a responding officer, he and several others could be heard repeatedly telling Brian Cardall to "get on the ground." Approximately 40 seconds after the officer gave his first command to get down, the "popping" sound of a Taser being deployed could be heard, followed by Brian Cardall moaning in apparent pain. About 12 seconds later, after telling Brian Cardall to stay on the ground, the Hurricane officer said "Taser deployed" again. Roughly 30 seconds after that, the officer said the situation was under control.

Brian Cardall quickly became unresponsive, officers said. He was treated within moments by paramedics, but he was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Thompson was placed on leave following the incident. He has since returned to duty and is working as a school resource officer in Hurricane, said police spokeswoman Nancy Perkins.

Belnap said he received the task force's report Friday. He and the prosecutors in his office will go through the reports, photos and other evidence they've been provided to determine whether Thompson was legally justified in his use of force to subdue Cardall, Belnap said,

Belnap added that he intends to be "deliberate" in his review of the case, declining to offer a time line for when he expects to make his findings public.

e-mail: gliesik@desnews.com

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