A 13-year-old boy remains hospitalized after he was shot by a Salt Lake City Police officer. Last Friday (September 4), Golda Barton called 911 because her son, Linden Cameron, who has Asperger syndrome, was experiencing a "mental breakdown."
She asked the police to send a crisis intervention team and warned the dispatcher that he tends to yell and scream when he gets agitated.
"I said, 'Look, he's unarmed. He doesn't have anything. He just gets mad, and he starts yelling and screaming,'" Barton told KUTV. "He's a kid he's trying to get attention. He doesn't know how to regulate."
When officers arrived, Linden ran away. Barton said that she heard officers yell "get on the ground" three times before they opened fire.
"Why didn't they tase him? Why didn't they shoot him with a rubber bullet?" Barton told the station. "He's a small child. Why don't you just tackle him? You are big police officers with massive amounts of resources."
Linden was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, including damage to his shoulder, ankles, intestines, bladder, and colon.
Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Keith Horrocks told reporters that officers received reports that Linden "had made threats to some folks with the weapon." He did not say if a weapon was recovered at the scene. Authorities promised to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the shooting.
"A protocol team made up of officers from multiple agencies with no ties to the Salt Lake City Police Department conducts an independent investigation. We are cooperating fully with the protocol team assigned to this case," the Salt Lake City Police Department said in a statement. "This is an active and open investigation being conducted by Protocol Team 3 and the District Attorney's office. The City's Civilian Review Board and our own Internal Affairs will also conduct parallel separate investigations. As this is an active investigation, we do not anticipate having any further updates until the release of the body-worn camera footage, which occurs within 10 business days from the incident."
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