COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah, Sept. 25, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — The Cottonwood Heights Police Department has released body camera footage of a Sept. 3 incident that left a teenage boy shot in the abdomen and requiring surgery.
The exchange started with an attempted traffic stop at about 3 a.m. The car, carrying a female and a male, sped away, but crashed in the area of Interstate 15 and 1300 South.
The officer caught up with the driver and passenger, who were under an overpass. The male, who turned out to be 17, was outside of the vehicle, and the officer believed he saw a gun in the boy’s hand.
The video has been redacted, and the shooting can be heard but not seen.
“Drop the gun!,” the officer can be heard yelling at a suspect standing in the underpass. The confrontation starts at 6:31 minutes into the 11:04 video.
“Drop the gun! Drop the gun now! Drop it, get on the ground! Get on the ground, I’ll shoot you, get on the ground! Get on the ground. Get on the ground. Get on the ground.”
The suspect sits on the ground and leans his back against the underpass wall.
The officer: “Roll over on your stomach! Roll over on your stomach!”
The suspect rolls onto his stomach.
The Officer speaking into his radio, “Now I have the female coming up behind me, I need the units now.” Officer addressing suspect, “Stay on the ground. Get on the ground! Do not move. Don’t move.’
The prone suspect’s elbow can be seen bending upward, which brings his hand toward his waist area.
Suspect: “I’m not moving, sir.”
The officer: “Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t!”
Then a single gunshot echoes through the underpass.
The officer: “Stay down! Stay down! Get your hands up!”
Suspect: “It is up, you shot me.”
The officer: “Sir, why did you reach in your pants?”
Suspect says something unintelligible.
The officer handcuffed the suspect, and rendered medical aid along with other first responders who had arrived. According to CHPD information, investigators at the scene did find a .22-caliber handgun in the suspect’s pants.
The suspect underwent surgery and was released from the hospital about a week later, according to CHPD information. He has been charged in juvenile court with fleeing an officer and unlawful possession of a firearm.
