The Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy who shot a man in a bar melee is a decorated narcotics detective who has attracted standing-room only crowds to his drug seminars.

The deputy, whom The Salt Lake Tribune has learned is Rudy Chacon, has such a strong reputation in the local foster care community that one worker said her son wants to be a police officer because of Chacon.

"If it isn't Rudy [educating foster parents about drugs], we don't want them," said the foster care worker, Linda Cannon.

But an attorney representing the family of the man shot at the Green Street Social Club paints a far less responsible portrait of Chacon, 33.

Early Sept. 19, Chacon was upstairs on the dance floor. He fired one pistol shot that struck 26-year-old John Junior Pikula's left arm, hit a rib and ricocheted to his colon, said Alan Mortensen, the man's attorney. Pikula was at the bar for his bachelor party.

A punch-throwing fight between people in Pikula's group and Chacon's group had begun moments earlier, but Morten -sen said his interviews with witnesses show the fight was ending and a friend had pulled Pikula, who had been blinded by a bouncer's pepper spray, to the side of the dance floor when he was shot. Chacon was about 15 feet away, near the center of the dance floor, and Pikula was not acting aggressively toward him, Mortensen said.

"Things were clearing out and people were calming down," the attorney said, "and then the gun went off. Mister Pikula did not see the gun and did not see who shot him."

Mortensen said Chacon, a 12-year veteran of the sheriff's office, had been drinking, was out of uniform and did not identify himself as a law-enforcement officer.

The attorney is conducting his own investigation and said Thursday he was not prepared to say Chacon improperly used force against Pikula.

Neither the sheriff's office nor Salt Lake City police, who are investigating the shooting, has disclosed Chacon's name. They have denied a records request by The Tribune seeking the shooter's name and other information about the case.

But several law-enforcement-community sources have acknowledged Chacon's role as the shooter. Mortensen said he's also been told Chacon fired the shot.

When reached by telephone this week, Chacon referred all questions to the sheriff's office. A spokesman there, Lt. Don Hutson, declined to discuss specifics of the case, citing the pending investigation.

Findings from the police investigation will be presented "soon" to prosecutors, Hutson said. They will decide whether Chacon acted within the law.

Utah law gives wide latitude to police and citizens with guns to protect life and safety when they perceive danger. Even if he is not charged with a crime, Chacon might face sanctions by the sheriff's office or the state's police board.

Salt Lake City police have said the deputy was at Green Street for a family party and some of those in the party were involved in the fight with Pikula's group. Mortensen said it's still not clear why the fight began.

Mortensen said Chacon went to the bar with his family and was there for "several hours" before the fight. Mortensen does not know how much Chacon drank or whether a sobriety test was administered.

Mortensen said he is still waiting to see video that may have recorded the fight and shooting.

"Giving [a police officer] the judgment to use a gun or not when he might not be able to drive a car is ridiculous and does violate well-established police practices," Mortensen said.

Salt Lake County deputies are required to carry their weapons or have them "reasonably accessible" at all times. Deputies don't set their guns aside when they drink alcohol, but are not supposed to use them if they are impaired. That can change, though, if there is an imminent threat and they need to respond, Hutson said.

The sheriff's office has not released details of Chacon's employment history, but his most recent assignment was to the Metro Narcotics Task Force coordinated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The task force investigates large drug cases across the Wasatch Front. An officer's assignment there implies aptitude.

Before being accepted to Metro Narcotics, a local police officer must receive the recommendation of his department and pass a background investigation by the DEA, said Special Agent Mike Turner, a spokesman for the DEA region that includes Utah.

The Salt Lake City Police Department awarded Chacon a citation earlier this year for helping rescue a man beaten and taken hostage. The sheriff's office has placed Chacon on administrative leave during the shooting investigation.

Cannon, who helps teach parenting skills and supervises foster families for the Utah Foster Care Foundation, said Chacon has led drug awareness seminars for the foundation for four or five years. Chacon discusses signs of narcotics use and shows examples of drugs and drug paraphernalia to parents and teenagers.

Chacon talks to the adults and the children as though they are his peers, Cannon said. He leads the seminars once or twice a year and has been known to have families come back year after year, creating standing-only crowds in meeting rooms meant to hold 75 people, she said.

"He just has a way of presenting things," Cannon said. "He's just an excellent trainer."

Cannon has a son who is trying to finish high school so he can apply to the state's police academy.

"He wants to be a narcotics agent because of Rudy," Cannon said.

Pikula didn't know Chacon, Mortensen said. But Pikula is no stranger to trouble with law enforcement.

Pikula pleaded guilty in 2004 to a count of aggravated robbery and a count of kidnapping. Court papers say Pikula lured a man into the rear of a car, then drove him to a dead end street. He drew a gun, cocked it, pointed it at the man's head and demanded money, according to court documents.

Pikula was paroled from prison about a year ago. Mortensen said Pikula has left the gang he belonged to and had a job installing drywall.

Pikula was supposed to marry a week after the bachelor party but that has been postponed. The colon wound got infected and Pikula had to spend extra time in the hospital, Mortensen said. Pikula was released from the hospital about a week ago but remains hooked up to a machine, Mortensen said.

Cannon remains supportive of Chacon.

"I'm rooting for him because I don't see him doing anything clumsily," Cannon said. "I don't see him [angry] or abusing his authority."

ncarlisle@sltrib.com