;Reported By Deseret News on 2015-01-12
“A Salt Lake police officer … was called to [investigate] a suspicious person [James Barker] approaching homes looking for snow shoveling jobs. The man is believed to be the same person some residents saw looking in car windows the day before, according to police…. During the first minute of the [officer’s body camera] video, the officer asks for Barker’s name, tells him he’s received a couple of complaints and points out that there really isn’t any snow on the walkways for him to shovel…. The officer again asks for his name. It’s at that point, without warning, that Barker’s demeanor changes from calm to aggressive and he screams at the officer, ‘I’m trying to make a living!’…. The body camera video shows Barker taking a step back and raising his shovel before he stepping forward and swinging it at the officer. The video spins as the officer is knocked off of the front porch and onto the ground. Then comes another hit from the shovel while he is on the ground. At this point, the video shows that a portion of the hard plastic shovel has been broken off. The officer can be seen on the ground holding something in his left hand. It’s unclear whether it’s his gun or a two-way radio microphone. Shortly after the latest hit from the shovel, the body camera is apparently damaged and stops recording… Shots were fired right after the body camera stopped recording [, killing Barker]…. The officer suffered fractured bones in his arm and foot during the incident….” [After seeing that cops in France are unarmed, to the detriment of themselves and unarmed citizens, going forward I will include incidents where on-duty law enforcement personnel are able to use firearms to protect themselves or others from violence.]