Chris Burbank Newsmaker Interview: Ex-SLCPD chief says police shooting of 13-year-old with autism failure of the system


SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Chris Burbank, former Salt Lake City Police chief, says the officer-involved shooting of a 13-year-old boy with autism represents a failure of police policy and a failure of leadership, not just in Salt Lake City, but in law enforcement agencies across the country.

Burbank made the comments Thursday during a Newsmaker Interview on Gephardt Daily, the same day current SLCPD Chief Mike Brown promised investigations into the incident would be transparent and carried out quickly.

Linden Cameren was shot the evening of Friday, Sept. 4, when according to Sgt. Keith Horrocks, police responded to reports of an armed juvenile in the throes of a “mental episode.”

According to Horrocks, the teen ran when being confronted by an officer and was shot “after a short foot pursuit.”

Cameren was gravely wounded.

His family insists he was unarmed.

A week after the incident, the 13-year-old remains confined to a hospital bed while news of the shooting is making headlines worldwide.

In his interview with Gephardt Daily, Burbank says the very nature of the police response set in a motion a chain of events with an all too familiar outcome, and unless police practices surrounding the use of lethal force change, the level of violence will only continue.

To hear Burbank’s interview, including his thoughts on the potential threat posed by law enforcement’s perceived involvement with armed civilian groups, click on the player above.

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