The mother of a recent Utah college graduate who was killed by police during a traffic stop claimed during an April 2022 traffic stop that she was a "sovereign" citizen of the state after being pulled over for having an expired registration, claiming that public roadways are "open to all," according to a lawsuit.
Farmington Police Department officers stopped Chase Allan, 25, on March 1 at around 3:22 p.m. for allegedly driving with an illegitimate license plate. Allan refused to get out of the car, police chief Eric Johnsen said in a statement to Fox News Digital, who said that multiple shots were fired when Allan refused to get out.
The police chief said that based on body camera video from the incident, Allan "rolled the window of the vehicle down only a few inches and refused to provide identification or cooperate with the officer in any way."
The initial officer called for assistance, and four other officers arrived. After allegedly "exhausting" attempts to convince Allan to get out of the car on his own, an officer opened a car door and attempted to physically remove Allan from it, Johnsen said.
Johnsen said that when the officer opened the car door, another officer yelled "gun, gun, gun!" Afterward, Johnsen said that a struggle ensued and "gun shots could be heard," adding that an "empty holster can be seen on Mr. Allan's right hip and a handgun can be seen lying on the driver side floorboard of the vehicle."
Allan was given medical assistance at the scene, but was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Allan's mother, Diane, was pulled over on April 7, 2022 by the Farmington Police Department over an expired registration, according to a lawsuit she filed in federal court against then police officer Johnsen, the City of Farmington, police officer Dane Hanson, and other officials.
Diane Allan wrote in the lawsuit that she is "one of the sovereign people of Utah" and has an "inherent right" to "be able to access the public roads without her Liberty restrained."
She also said that the police officers wrongfully claimed to "have the right to enforce traffic codes."
According to the lawsuit, Diane Allan claimed to have refused to give her insurance information or vehicle registration when asked by the officer.
Johnsen told Diane Allan that if she didn't register her vehicle, it would be impounded, according to the lawsuit. Allan said police saying they would impound her vehicle for improper registration was a threat.
"No, it's a promise, it's a promise," Johnsen responded to Diane Allan. "Your car is going to be impounded…we're going to take it away from you."
Diane Allan then told the officer that his comments were a "declaration of war," according to the lawsuit.
The March 1 incident is under investigation by the Davis County Critical Incident Protocol team.
Chase Allan's family said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Chase's death is a "brutal murder," stating that they weren't notified of his passing by officials, only learning from local media reports that he had passed away.
"Police are stonewalling us. Our family has not been permitted to see Chase and has not been contacted by authorities or justice departments with information surrounding this investigation. Chase lived at home with his parents in Farmington. 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," the family said in a statement.
