Patrick Harmon, 50

Salt Lake City, Utah
August 13, 2017

Agencies: Salt Lake City Police Department - Utah

Cause of death: Shooting

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Overview

Police are investigating a fatal officer-involved shooting in downtown Salt Lake City Sunday night.

Sgt. Brandon Shearer, of the Salt Lake Police Department, told Gephardt Daily the deadly incident took place about 10:17 p.m. near 1002 S. State St.

According to Sgt. Shearer, a Salt Lake City police officer stopped a man for questioning. Two other officers had arrived for backup when the suspect allegedly pulled a weapon.   

Officers initiated “de-escalation tactics” in an attempt to bring the situation under control, but the original officer on scene ended up opening fire.

Witnesses told Gephardt Daily they heard three shots.

The man who was shot was described only as an adult African-American male. He was rushed by ambulance to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, where he died a short while later.

The Unified Police Department, along with the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office, will conduct an investigation into the officer-involved shooting in accordance with state law.

The policeman who allegedly opened fire is described as a veteran law enforcement officer. He’s been placed on paid administrative leave.

Bodycam video of the shooting is embedded below.

Legal Action

A Utah prosecutor asked the FBI on Tuesday to investigate the police shooting tof Patrick Harmon.

A civilian review board announced on November 8, 2017 that the Salt Lake City officer followed department policy in the shooting of a Harmon after he ran from police.

The report supports Officer Clinton Fox in the Aug. 13 shooting captured on body camera video that appears to show Patrick Harmon being shot from behind after the officer says, "I'll (expletive) shoot you."

The review board said the footage shows Harmon, 50, pausing and apparently pivoting, supporting the officer's contention Harmon yelled he would stab him with a knife. No knife is discernable in the nighttime video, but investigators said they found one at the scene. The report cites footage from multiple police body-camera videos, and notes another officer fired a Taser at the same time Fox fired his gun, indicating they reacted separately to Harmon's actions.

In July 2020, U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby found officer Clinton Fox was “legally objectively reasonable” in shooting 50-year-old Patrick Harmon three times in August 2017. 

On August 14, 2020, a federal judge revived part of a lawsuit from the Harmon family's lawsuit, sending it back to a state court for review.

Community and Family Efforts

July 2020 Murals of people killed by Salt Lake City Police