TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, March 21, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Unified Police officials have released the name of a man shot dead in an officer-involved critical incident early Saturday in Taylorsville.
“The name of the individual killed in this morning’s OICI in Taylorsville is Bryan Pena, age 28, of Salt Lake City,” says a statement issued just before 3 p.m. by the Unified Police Department. “We do not have any additional information at this time.”
The incident began nearly 12 hours earlier when officers of the Unified Police Department responded to a call of shots fired at about 3:20 a.m., Unified P.D. Sgt. Melody Gray told reporters at the scene.
“Taylorsville units received a call of shots fired in the neighborhood just north of 6200 South and 3200 West,” Gray said. “There was a vehicle seen fleeing the scene and headed westbound.”
Officers to the west spotted a suspicious vehicle leaving a neighborhood in Kearns, Gray said.
“They went to make a traffic stop on that vehicle, and it fled. The officers did not pursue that vehicle, but the car made a turn onto 3200 West, where we’re at, where it appeared to strike a median and it came to rest at a street sign.
“The officers observed the driver get out of that vehicle and flee, and jump over a fence, and officers chased that suspect, where an altercation occurred in the backyard between the officers and the suspect,” Gray said.
“The officers fired their weapons, and the suspect is now deceased.”
Gray, speaking shortly after 6 a.m., said officers had not identified the dead man, and had not yet searched the car, a Cadillac.
The backyard where the officer-involved critical incident occurred belongs to a residence that is vacant, Gray said.
In keeping with officer-involved-shooting protocol, another agency will conduct the investigation. That agency will be the Salt Lake City Police Department, Gray said.
Gephardt Daily will have more information as it is released by investigators.
