This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Salt Lake City police officer who last year fired at a man — and missed — believing the man was pointing a gun at him, was justified in using deadly force, the Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill ruled Friday.
On Oct. 1 at about 4:30 p.m., SLCPD Officer Philip Cardon and another officer encountered the man while responding to a trespassing call near 1300 South and 170 West.
Cardon told the man to show his hands. Instead, the man said, "I'm not going back to prison," and walked away, according to the district attorney's report.
When Cardon ordered the man to stop, he ran and the officers followed.
Soon after, the man stopped, turned, pulled an object from his pocket and pointed it at Cardon.
Cardon later told investigators that he believed the man was pointing a gun at him and that he expected to hear the "pop" of a gun shot, the district attorney's report says.
The man then continued to run, eventually coming to an area where there were a number of people.
The officers and other witnesses saw the man pull an object from his pocket and point it at the officers.
Cardon drew his weapon and fired one round at the man, who went down. When officers went to the man's aid, they discovered the bullet had only traveled through his clothing, the district attorney's report says.
A black rubber bicycle handle was found when the 41-year-old man was taken into custody, according to charges of second-degree felony assault against a police officer filed in 3rd District Court. The court case is ongoing.
Charging documents say the man told police his "mental health had been 'crazy' for the last few days," and that he believed he was being followed by parole officers because he had walked away from a halfway house.
The district attorney's report concludes that Cardon reasonably believed he needed to use deadly force against the man to prevent him from inflicting death or serious bodily injury against Cardon and others in the area