Following protocol and local ordinance, the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) has released body-worn camera footage from a May 27 officer-involved shooting, which ended with a 60-year-old man, Christian Thomas Allen, dead at the scene. According to SLCPD, which details accounts of the events leading up to the incident, it was reported that officers responded to a call of a domestic-violence-burglary in progress at 2963 South Judith Street shortly after midnight.
The call came from a woman identified only as C.A., who alleged her ex-husband, violating a protective order, had forcibly entered her home and was threatening to commit an act of extreme violence. She, along with her two teenage children, was hiding in a locked bedroom, as per SLCPD. The 911 call captured Allen's threats, including one where he claimed to have doused himself in gasoline and was intending to set himself alight, a claim substantiated by the smell of gasoline once the police arrived on the scene.
When officers arrived, a subject, later identified as Allen, was visible inside the residence, and soon after forcing entry, was confronted by officers while holding a large knife. Footage from the body-worn cameras released by the SLCPD shows officers repeatedly issuing loud commands to Allen to drop the weapon before he advanced toward them, prompting two officers to discharge their firearms.
As standard procedure dictates, the officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave. They are said to have provided medical aid to Allen immediately following the shooting, but he succumbed to his injuries at the scene. There were no physical injuries reported to C.A. or her children. "This appears to have been a fast-moving, unpredictable, and dangerous situation," said SLCPD Police Chief Brian Redd, as obtained by SLCPD, indicating the volatile nature of domestic violence situations that officers often face. The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake is currently leading an independent investigation into the incident.
