One dead and officer hit by friendly fire in Salt Lake
Jul 16, 2019, 7:45 AM | Updated: 12:44 pm
Police respond to a shooting at 580 S. 500 West that left one civilian dead and a police officer injured at a Salt Lake City apartment complex in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 15, 2019. Police were responding to a mental health issue at an apartment complex when the shooting occurred according to Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon Shearer.
SALT LAKE CITY — A police officer is out of the hospital and another man is dead after a shooting in downtown Salt Lake City. Police Sergeant Brandon Shearer says both men were shot by another officer. He says the officers were responding to a mental health call at 580 S. 500 West on Monday afternoon.
Due to the nature of that call, officers requested a member of their Crisis Intervention Team — a group of officers specially trained in how to deal with people who suffer from mental health problems. Sargent Shearer says when the suspect pulled out a weapon, one of the officers responded by firing his weapon, hitting both the suspect and the other officer.
UPDATE: Very dynamic situation that escalated quickly. We have determined the officer was hit by our own gun fire.
This was a tragic situation, which could have been even worse. We are thankful our officer was patched up and sent home quickly.— SLC Police Dept. (@slcpd) July 16, 2019
The Department began training members of the Crisis Intervention Team in the early ’90s and now all SLCPD officers get at least 40 hours of training to work with those suffering from mental illness. The man that was shot has not been identified yet. Police are waiting until after they notify his family.
