SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City police call, which started with officers attempting to understand whether a man had been assaulted or was the aggressor in a fight, ended with the man being shot to death after throwing rocks at the officers.
Newly released body camera video shows what occurred during the October 29 incident and what led to the man, identified as 47-year-old Jose Hernandez, being killed.
The incident began when officers were called via 911 to the area of 2100 South and 300 West. According to police, the person who had called 911said a man had been attacked in the middle of the street and was "starting to wake up" before hanging up the phone.
When two officers arrived at the scene, witnesses said an altercation had occurred, and then spoke with Hernandez.
Raw video below shows confrontation and shooting of Jose Hernandez:
While Hernandez was sitting on the curb, officers offered him medical attention, which he declined. One officer is heard asking Hernandez why they keep getting calls to the same location about him getting into fights, and he never explains what had happened.
As Hernandez continues to sit silently on the curb, he's seen in the body camera video placing rocks from the landscaping into the pockets of his hoodie. In the background, officers can be heard ordering Hernandez to put the rocks back where they were, which he ignores while keeping a rock in his hand.
Hernandez is then seen getting up off the curb and begins to walk away as the officers draw their guns and firmly tell him to put the rock down, while also loudly ordering others in the area to clear away.
Seconds later, Hernandez runs away from the officers and crosses through traffic on 300 West. When he got to the corner of 2100 South, Hernandez can be seen throwing a rock at one of the pursuing officers, who fired his weapon, hitting Hernandez with at least one round of gunfire.
An ambulance arrived at the intersection and transported Hernandez to the hospital, where he later died. An officer was also treated at the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
The West Jordan Police Department is investigating the incident.
