SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 6, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have identified a 29-year-old man killed as a result of an officer-involved shooting Monday night in the area of Park Place apartments on 700 South.
In a news conference Tuesday morning, Salt Lake City Police Department spokesman Sgt. Greg Wilking said the suspect has been identified as Riche Antonio Santiago.
Wilking said two SLCPD officers were responding to a 911 hangup call when the fatal shooting took place at approximately 350 East and 700 South at around 7 p.m.
“Our officers arrived on scene and encountered a male who produced a gun and actually shot at our officers,” Wilking said. “Our officers returned fire and that individual was shot and medical aid was rendered and he was declared deceased on scene. His next-of-kin has been notified.” A gun was recovered on scene, he added.
Wilking said the two officers that were involved in the incident were uninjured; both were wearing body cameras. It’s not clear at this time if both officers fired their weapons. They are on paid administrative leave, as is protocol in OICI incidents.
Wilking said in 10 working days, officials will make that body cam footage available and will walk through more details of what occurred.
“As far as the scene last night, it was a very active scene, and there wasn’t a lot of information given at that time,” Wilking added. “Those protocols are in place so that we’re able to make sure that the officers have their time, to get with their families, to recoup, and so we can notify next-of-kin, so we can go through the processes and get the people out that need to be out, to investigate the scene, so those things take a long time.”
He said the exact nature of that 911 hangup call is still under investigation.
“We’re not sure what led up to this, our officers were on scene because of that 911 hangup call, we don’t know if it was a direct result of the altercation that ensued, we’re just not sure at this point,” Wilking said. He said the incident occurred outside the building. It’s not clear if the suspect was a resident of the building.
“My understanding is it was a very dynamic, quick incident that took place once officers got on scene,” Wilking said.
West Valley City Police Department is handling the investigation into this OICI in accordance with protocol that requires the investigation to be conducted by an agency other than the one directly involved.
Gephardt Daily will update this developing story as more information becomes available.
