A man was fatally shot late Sunday night in downtown Salt Lake City after he allegedly pulled a weapon on police officers who were trying to arrest him on an outstanding felony warrant.
Police on Monday identified the man as 50-year-old Patrick Harmon, whose most recent address, according to court records from November 2016, was The Road Home shelter.
The shooting occurred at about 10:20 p.m. at 1002 S. State Street, Salt Lake City police Sgt. Brandon Shearer said.
An officer in a patrol unit had approached Harmon, believed to have been riding a bicycle. Two more officers soon arrived as backup.
At some point, Harmon, initially identified only as an adult black male, “produced a weapon,” Shearer said.
“De-escalation tactics were used in an effort to get the suspect to drop the weapon,” he said.
Details of what happened next were unclear, but one officer opened fire, striking the Harmon at least once. Critically injured, Harmon was given first-aid at the scene by police and then transported to the hospital by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
One officer, who has been with the department “a few years” was placed on paid administrative leave, said Chief Mike Brown at a news conference Monday afternoon. Only one of the officers fired, he said.
“These are tough situations all around,” Brown said. Shootings are ”hard on officers” and on families, he said, adding that the department stands behind the officer involved in this case.
All three officers were equipped with body cameras and had activated them at the time, police confirmed. Brown said the footage is under review by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, and once Gill renders a decision, the video would be released to the public.
Brown said he would not discuss what kind of weapon Harmon had (though it was recovered at the scene); how many shots were fired; where on Harmon’s body the man was wounded; or specifically why Harmon had been stopped in the first place.
“That‘s part of the [ongoing] investigation,” Shearer had said earlier, which will be conducted independently by Salt Lake County’s Unified Police Department.
UPD Lt. Brian Lohrke confirmed Monday that the review was underway, but said any results would be announced by SLCPD.
Brown declined to say what type of warrant on which police were trying to arrest Harmon or whether police were familiar with Harmon. But court records show that a $10,000 felony warrant was issued in April after Harmon failed to show up for sentencing in 3rd District Court.
In that case, Harmon had pleaded guilty last year to second-degree felony aggravated assault with serious bodily injury for attacking another man in Salt Lake City . The victim’s jaw, nose and orbital wall were fractured during the attack, charges state. At the time of the March 2, 2016, attack, Harmon listed a West Jordan address.
Also, in May, a judge issued a $15,000 warrant for Harmon for failing to comply with probation requirements after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug possession case, court records show.
In 2000, Harmon was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty in separate cases to second-degree felony robbery and third-degree felony burglary, court records show.
The last fatal shooting by Salt Lake City police occurred May 30, when 18-year-old Roman Jade Carrillo, of Bountiful, led police on a high-speed car chase and exchanged fire with two officers. Before that, SLCPD officers on Sept. 22, 2015, inflicted fatal injuries on 48-year-old Robert Richard Berger who had broken into a woman’s house and stabbed her, according to Shearer.
