Dancers to march from Utah State Capitol in honor of Megan Mohn
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A nonprofit is hosting a dance Tuesday night — which may resemble a march — in memory of a woman who nonprofit officials say died at the hands of the police two years ago.
Nomad Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to helping those who are experiencing homelessness, is throwing an event called “Dance for Justice, Remembering Megan Mohn” starting at the Utah State Capitol building at 5 p.m. on Jan. 30. The dance will move down State Street, led by a bus full of DJs, until arriving at the City and County Building just before Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s State of the City address.
The dance is in remembrance of Megan Mohn, who died in the hospital while in custody in January of 2022. Nomad Alliance officials said the organization worked closely with Mohn to help get her off the streets prior to the incident.
They said Mohn, who they describe as “funny,” “tenacious,” and a “loyal friend,” had been living in their microhome community, had stopped using hard drugs, and had kept a job for 10 months. They said she moved off the property for winter and was pet-sitting when she was evicted in the middle of the night in Jan. 2022.
Nonprofit representatives wrote, “36 hours later she lost consciousness as three cops kneeled on her back, and she never woke again.”
They say they are hosting this event in honor of Mohn and her “firecracker” personality, as well as others who are marginalized in the community.
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“Far too many of those living sans shelter die too soon at the hands of careless or malevolent police, and the systems that do too little to end the homeless epidemic,” the event post description said.
Police reports provide additional — and, at times, different — details regarding the deadly incident. Officials also released the bodycam video footage of Mohn being restrained, an action that ultimately led to her death.
Police reported at the time that she was walking in the intersection in circles holding a rebar. Police were alerted to her behavior after she allegedly tried to get into a secured area around 3:30 a.m. before running back to the intersection.
Reports said she was compliant and dropped the rebar when police commanded it. Later, however, the reports claimed she began resisting officers, refused to give her name, and kicked an officer several times, leading to them allegedly placing a leg restraint device on her.
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Police said she then stopped resisting and yelling, and one officer said he could see her breathing. After she remained unconscious and did not respond to CPR or naloxone, they took her to the hospital where she later died.
The Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, saying the immediate cause of death was “anoxic brain injury” due to “cardiac arrest.” The report continued to say she likely died due to “probable methamphetamine intoxication in the setting of an altercation involving physical restraint.”
Immediately after the incident, the Salt Lake City Police Department released a statement saying officers have to make “incredibly important decisions at lightning speed and under incredible stress and volatility.” The statement, issued by Chief Mike Brown, continued to say their “officers acted appropriately, quickly and professionally to save Ms. Mohn’s life.”
The incident prompted an Officer Involved Critical Incident (OICI) investigation.
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