Video shows US police shoot black man dead as he was 'trying to get away'
Salt Lake City officials clear officers over death of Patrick Harmon
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.US police fatally shot a black man as he "was trying to get away", newly released footage allegedly shows.
Officers in Utah have been cleared over the death, with Salt Lake City prosecutors saying they were justified in the killing because Patrick Harmon had a knife and they feared for their lives.
But the video has sparked accusations of a “flat-out murder” after the 50-year-old was pulled over for riding a bicycle without a light on 13 August.
The body-camera footage, which was handed to local media, shows officer Clinton Fox shouting “I’ll f***ing shoot you” before firing three shots into Mr Harmon, who appeared to be running in the opposite direction.
Another officer said he fired his Taser at Mr Harmon, who slumped to the ground and was handcuffed while groaning in pain.
Salt Lake City officials say Mr Harmon broke away from the police officers, who were preparing to arrest him after it emerged he had an outstanding warrants, including one for aggravated assault.
As he ran, it is alleged he said “I’ll cut you” before turning to face the officers holding a knife, at which point he was shot by Mr Fox. Investigators later found a knife at the scene.
The video does not pick up Mr Harmon making the alleged threat.
Mr Fox told investigators he felt “terrified by how close Mr Harmon was to the officers” and it was the “scariest situation he had ever been in”.
Although being given first aid at the scene by police, who could be heard on body-cam footage saying “Patrick, stay with us”, Mr Harmon was pronounced dead at hospital soon after.
“They just murdered him flat out,” Alisha Shaw, Mr Harmon’s niece, told The Guardian. “They are lying. There is no way they were threatened by anything. He was only trying to get away.”
In 2016 a supreme court in Massachusetts ruled black men running from police have a legitimate reason to do so, citing a report which found they were disproportionately likely to be stopped by officers in Boston.
A study also found unarmed black people in the US were more than twice as likely as unarmed white people to be shot dead by police.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments