- Salt Lake officer Bradley Gardner was legally justified in shooting Carlos Ocampo-Flores.
- Ocampo-Flores, 19, threatened Gardner with a rock after fleeing a car crash, investigators say.
- He was convicted of assaulting the officer and received a suspended prison sentence.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake police officer was legally justified when he shot a man who raised his arm while holding a rock as if he were about to throw it at the officer, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Friday.
Carlos Felipe Ocampo-Flores, 19, survived the shooting and was later convicted of assaulting the officer.
On May 12, 2025, police attempted to pull over a Dodge Charger driven by Ocampo-Flores near 600 W. North Temple, "but the vehicle fled at a high rate of speed, went through a railroad crossing as the arms were coming down, and crashed into multiple parked vehicles," according to Gill's report.
Ocampo-Flores then got out and ran. About 40 minutes later, as police were searching the area for him, officer Bradley Gardner spotted Ocampo-Flores walking along the railroad tracks near 100 South and 700 West and ran after him.
"As officer Gardner caught up to the suspect, the suspect turned, raised his arm above his head with an object to throw it, and began growling loudly," the report states. The startled officer "fell to the ground next to the railway tracks. The suspect continued to growl as he stood on the tracks over officer Gardner and then raised his right arm above his head with a rock in his hand, appearing to prepare to throw it at him."
"Do not, do not, do not," Gardner is heard yelling at Ocampo-Flores in body camera video, as he was still on the ground.
Gardner then fired three times at Ocampo-Flores.
Ocampo-Flores was injured and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. He was later charged with 16 crimes and convicted of four of them: failing to stop for police, a third-degree felony; running from police and assault on an officer, class A misdemeanors; and crashing into another car, a class B misdemeanor. The other charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal. Ocampo-Flores received a suspended prison sentence and was placed on three years of probation.
He later told police investigating the shooting that he picked up a rock in hopes of scaring the officer.
"I picked up the rock, and I was like this, threatening him," he said. "I was like above him and I, he had his gun on me like this … that's when I raised the rock."
Ocampo-Flores initially claimed he wasn't actually going to throw the rock and dropped it before being shot.
"I drop everything. He still shoots, bro. Because I was, I was yelling at him. He was like, 'Stop, stop.' I was like, 'You stop. You're chasing me. I'm not doing anything.'"
He later clarified that "when he got shot, he had the rock in his hand and that he thought that's when he dropped it," according to Gill's report.
Despite the officer also ordering Ocampo-Flores to stop reaching for his waistband, Gill says he was not carrying any other weapons.
Ocampo-Flores also admitted that he drove over the railroad tracks as the crossing arms were coming down in an attempt to lose police who were trying to pull him over.
"I was gonna stop, but I see the train passing and perfect opportunity," he told investigators.
Gill said during a press conference on Friday announcing his decision that his team looked at the overall picture and what the officer's perception was of the situation once he fell and Ocampo-Flores was raising a rock above his head.
"He's fallen down. He sees this person raising a rock, and he's responding to that," Gill said. "It's when he's fallen back. Ocampo now is moving on top of him while he's on the ground, raises his arm, and that's when the shots are fired. So I think it is not unreasonable for (Gardner) to make the claim that he was afraid for his life. He's by himself with the suspect, he's already fallen down, and once he fell down, the suspect didn't run away. He actually comes back at him."
