SALT LAKE CITY — A man is in critical condition after he was shot by a Salt Lake City police officer, in an incident that began with an attempted traffic stop late Monday.
According to the Salt Lake City Police Department, an officer attempted to stop the suspect, 18-year-old Carlos Felipe Ocampo-Flores, as he was driving on 600 West near South Temple at approximately 11 p.m. Flores refused to stop and continued driving south on 600 West.
Officers later found Flores' vehicle abandoned after it had appeared to have crashed into several other parked vehicles near 70 South. A search for the suspect, which involved a K9 unit, immediately began in the area following the vehicle's discovery.
At 11:43 p.m., an officer located a man near the abandoned car and ordered him to stop running from the scene, but the man allegedly did not comply. When police said the man reached for his waistband, the officer fired at least one shot.
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First responders initially treated Flores and transported him to the hospital in stable condition, only to learn a few hours later that the severity had escalated to critical condition and that his injuries were considered life-threatening.
On Wednesday, SLCPD gave an update saying his condition had improved, and although he's still in the hospital, his injuries are no longer considered life-threatening.
Once he's released from the hospital, SLCPD says he will be booked for failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop, assault on a peace officer, assault on emergency medical providers, possession of a controlled substance, reckless driving, interfering with a peace officer, and other traffic-related offenses.
One officer suffered abrasions during the incident.
The shooting is being investigated by Officer Involved Critical Incident Team 4, which is led by the West Jordan Police Department. The officer who fired his weapon has also been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard in these investigations.
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Salt Lake City Police said they will release body camera footage of the incident within 10 business days, as is required under city code.
Some people who live or work in the area said this incident is making them a little more cautious.
“Shootings like that can happen anywhere in town, honestly. You can’t really predict these kinds of things," said George Wong. "I think what’s more important, though, is that it doesn’t become a pattern. That it doesn’t happen a lot. If it starts to happen more often, at that point I’d start worrying about coming in every day for work.”
“Just makes me feel like, sometimes you never know what’s going to happen, so we need to make sure we are keeping an eye on ourselves," added Gabe Smuin.
“Definitely will be a little more careful with our walk around, but it won’t prevent us from walking," Stephen Thomson said.
