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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Salt Lake City Police have released bodycam footage of the officer-involved critical incident from Tuesday, April 2, that left a man dead.
The incident occurred on the 800 block of South State Street. Police received a 911 call from an employee working at a Chevron gas station.
The employee reportedly told police that the suspect, later identified as Cameron Ammon Cloward, 36, had a knife and tried to stab him through a window. Based on the employee’s statements, police believe Cloward may have committed an aggravated robbery by using — or threatening to use — a dangerous weapon during the commission of a robbery or attempted robbery.
Officers arrived at the scene at around 2:30 a.m., finding Cloward walking in the parking lot while holding a knife. Cloward reportedly began walking north from the gas station on the east sidewalk of State Street. Cloward allegedly turned around, faced officers, and started walking back into the gas station parking lot.
Bodycam footage from one of the officers on the scene captured the officer telling Cloward to stop walking toward the gas station.
The footage then shows Cloward holding his knife with the blade positioned under his chin. Officers gave Cloward commands to stop and get on the ground, but he refused to comply, repeatedly saying, “I don’t care.”
One SLCPD officer reportedly requested a “less lethal shotgun,” before four officers then fired shots, resulting in Cloward’s death.
No officers were injured during the incident. The knife found at the scene matched the description provided by the store employee as a pocketknife. The blade of the knife was found extended, police said.
The four SLCPD officers who used deadly force have been placed on standard paid administrative leave.
The videos released today captured the incident from the body-worn cameras of six SLCPD officers.
“Any loss of life is tragic, and the use of deadly force is a traumatic event for our officers. This situation unfolded very quickly and involved safety risks to our community and officers. Our officers are trained to perceive, interpret, and respond to a person’s actions. The body-worn camera footage released today shows our officers urging, and ordering, Mr. Cloward to put down his knife and to stop walking toward them. Maintaining the safety of our community can be full of risk and unpredictability,” a press release from SLCPD states.
Here are links to the six bodycam videos, provided by SLCPD:
No further information is available at this time.
