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A Unified Police officer has been cleared of any wrongdoing for firing his pistol during an August confrontation with a angry, drunken motorcyclist who was not wounded, until he shot himself in the head.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, in a decision released on Friday, said a thorough review found that UPD Officer Aaron Bartholomew was "legally justified" in opening fire as Michael David Huggard, 35, pulled a handgun from the back of his waistband and pointed it at him and two other officers.

Bartholomew fired three times — none of his shots finding their target — as Huggard suddenly put his handgun to his own head and pulled the trigger. He survived, though as of Friday he remained in a long-term medical care facility.

The incident had begun when two other UPD officers pulled Huggard over for speeding near 900 East and South Union Avenue in Midvale, about 1:40 a.m. on Aug. 16.

When officers approached Huggard, he got off his bike, which then fell over. As the officers got closer, they reported, they could smell alcohol on Huggard — who then adopted what they described as "an aggressive stance." The officers called for backup at that point, learning that Huggard had a history of hostility toward law officers, and was known to carry a firearm.

When Bartholomew arrived and joined the other two officers, Huggard started to back away, refusing to comply with orders to stop. One officer tried unsuccessfully to subdue Huggard with a Taser, and that was when Huggard allegedly reached for his handgun.

Gill noted that two video sources, along with statements from the other two officers, supported Bartholomew's decision to open fire.

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