SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – On September 4th 2020, Salt Lake City 911 received a call from a mother indicating her 13-year-old son was having a mental health issue and may be violent. She requested a Crisis Intervention Officer and indicated her son had recently had a high-speed chase with police.
The mother did not believe her son had any access to weapons but was not sure. She told dispatch her son had a shootout with police in Lyon County, Utah, but they had done nothing about it. The mother provided information that her son does not like law enforcement, partially due to the shooting of a family member by sheriff’s deputies in Lyon County. She was waiting for officers from the street to arrive.
Officers arrived on scene and contacted the mother to obtain details in person. The mother provided more details regarding her son and what occurred tonight. She indicated her son has issues with law enforcement and can have issues when he sees uniforms, however she believed the police are the only people she can call.
As two officers knocked on the front door, the officer who remained in the driveway yelled at someone who was in the backyard. That officer gave chase to the individual, and the two officers who were at the door followed.
The person who fled from the house jumped the back fence, which slowed officers down. The officer from the driveway, as well as one officer from the front door attempted to go over the fence, while the third officer went to the front of the house. The juvenile initially ran east but encountered one of the additional officers who had staged to the east. The juvenile turned and began to run west back towards the residence as this additional officer gave chase. Eventually the two officers at the fence broke through and began to chase the male to the west. They continued down the alley to the west until the male exited north on Navajo St.
Shortly after this the male stopped running and was ordered to the ground several times by the officer who was initially in the driveway. A second officer twice told the male to “pull your hands out”. The officer who was initially in the driveway discharged his weapon striking the male.
The officers approached the male, handcuffed him, and began rendering medical aid. In order to protect the privacy interests of the juvenile, the videos being released are stopped prior to aid being rendered. The boy was transported to a hospital where he was treated for his injuries and is still recovering.
The full video of the incident and shooting are below: