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SALT LAKE CITY — An overnight traffic stop ended with police shooting a man who wasn't involved.
About 1:40 a.m. Thursday, a Salt Lake City police officer pulled over a vehicle near 375 South and 765 West.
"During the investigation, a man not involved in the traffic stop approached the officer on scene. That person, a 32-year-old man, had a weapon," the department stated.
There was an undisclosed confrontation and the 32-year-old man was shot. He was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The officer involved in the traffic stop was not hurt. Police say the driver who was pulled over was not involved in the shooting and, at one point, tried to help the officer with the armed man.
"Our police officers are highly trained," Chief Mike Brown said in a prepared statement. "Whenever there is a threat to our community or our officers, I have absolute confidence in their ability to act with speed and courage to eliminate the danger and protect everyone. This appears to have been yet again another rapidly unfolding, life-threatening, and dangerous situation. Our officers have my full support."
An officer-involved critical incident protocol was invoked, meaning an outside agency was called to investigate the shooting. The results will be turned over to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, which will determine whether the officer was justified in using deadly force.
Statewide, there have been four police shootings in a five-day period this year.
