Patrick Harmon was a 50-year-old African-American man fatally shot from behind by police officer Clinton Fox in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, on August 13, 2017. The shooting took place after Harmon was pulled over by an officer for riding a bicycle without proper lighting. The incident led to protests in Salt Lake City, some organized by

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

Incident

Harmon had been pulled over by police officer Kris Smith for bicycling without a red rear light. Officers tried to arrest Harmon after discovering an outstanding warrant. Harmon attempted to flee the scene and was chased by the police, at which point officers said he turned towards them with a knife and was shot. The shooting of Harmon by Fox was recorded by police

body camera A body camera, bodycam, body worn video (BWV), body-worn camera, or wearable camera is a wearable audio, video, or photographic recording system. Body cameras have a range of uses and designs, of which the best-known use is as a part of poli ...

s. Police also stated that Harmon verbally threatened them prior to the shooting saying "I’ll cut you". Harmon was tasered by Smith while or when on the ground after being shot by Fox.

Aftermath

The police and district attorney's office initially declined to release the body camera footage, prompting public protest in Salt Lake City. In early October 2017, some of the body camera footage was released, and the district attorney in Salt Lake City announced the decision not to file charges against the officers. The district attorney claimed that Harmon posed a threat to the officers. Critics have argued that the video footage from the scene does not show such a threat because he was running away when he was shot. A local Black Lives Matter representative said that the community wanted the district attorney to resign, or else they would respond with protesting marches. Salt Lake City police Sgt. Brandon Shearer claimed that the officers had used police

de-escalation De-escalation is a human behavior that is intended to prevent escalation of conflicts. It may also refer to approaches in conflict resolution. People may become committed to behaviors that tend to escalate conflict, so specific measures must be ...

tactics. Fox was criticized by a

representative, for failing to de-escalate the situation. In October 2017, following further public protests, the district attorney asked the FBI to review his decision not to prosecute the police involved.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmon, Patrick 2010s in Salt Lake City 2017 controversies in the United States 2017 in Utah August 2017 events in the United States Black Lives Matter Deaths by person in Utah Filmed killings by law enforcement Law enforcement in Utah African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States Taser Salt Lake City Police Department Cycling safety

Incident

Aftermath

See also

References