Officer-Involved Shooting Updates and Statement from SLCPD

SALT LAKE CITY — On Saturday, February 27, at approximately 8:00 p.m. officers witnessed two males with metal objects attacking a male victim. Officers confronted the two suspects and ordered them to drop the weapons. One of the males complied and dropped the weapon, the other continued to advance on the victim and was shot by officers. The male was transported to the hospital and remains in critical condition. The male has been identified and is 17 years old.  Because of his age, his identity will not be released.

Immediately following the shooting, a crowd gathered and became hostile toward the officers – some throwing rocks and bottles. To ensure the safety of all present, the arriving medical personnel, and preservation of the crime scene, officers began asking the crowd to evacuate the area. Numerous individuals failed to comply with this request and crowd control was initiated by SLCPD. The crowd was dispersed swiftly and the area was cleared so the investigation could be conducted. As a result of the hostile crowd, four suspects were arrested for crimes related to civil disorder.

Two SLCPD officers were involved in the shooting. Both involved officers had body cameras activated at the time of the shooting. The video evidence has been turned over to a team led by the Unified Police Department who will be handling the investigation per Salt Lake County’s Officer-Involved Critical Incident Protocol. Once the Unified Police Department’s investigation is complete, they will submit the case to the District Attorney’s office who will make a determination on the shooting. Other independent reviews will be done by the Salt Lake City Civilian Review Board, SLCPD Internal Affairs and the SLCPD Training Unit, where information from the review will be applied to future scenario-based training, lessons learned, and policies.

“We are committed, to ensuring the Salt Lake City Police Department does business appropriately, in line with the community’s trust and expectations,” said Chief Mike Brown.  “Our goal is to always de-escalate any type of volatile situation using the minimal amount of force necessary.”

While there is body camera footage, there is currently an active and open investigation into this matter, and release of the body camera recordings could reasonably be expected to interfere with that investigation (Utah Code 63G-2-305(10)(a).

Because the suspect is currently being screened for criminal charges, release of the body camera recording could create a danger of depriving the suspect of a right to fair trial or impartial hearing (Utah Code 63G-2-305(10)(c)).

The officers have both been placed on routine administrative leave pending the result of the investigation.

This release serves as our statement and no additional updates will be given on the investigation today.

###