Prosecutor says Utah man shot had real sword !! UPDATE!!
Prosecutor says Utah man shot had real sword
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A young black man who was fatally shot last week by Utah police lunged at the officers with a real sword that had a 2.5-foot steel blade, prosecutors said Monday.
Reports from Darrien Hunt's family that the 22-year-old was carrying a toy sword are not accurate, said Chief Deputy Attorney .
"It wasn't plastic, it wasn't wood," Taylor said. "It appears to be a real samurai sword."
The Police Department is under fire over the fatal shooting of Hunt last Wednesday. The city removed a critical social media posting that accused the news media of reporting innuendo, opinion and rumor as fact with the police chief apologizing for the remarks.
Hunt's mother has accused police of shooting her son because he is black. Police say race played no role.
An attorney for the family says an independent autopsy shows Hunt was shot six times while running away.
Taylor said investigators are talking with witnesses and gathering surveillance video from the strip mall to piece together what happened. There are at least three businesses nearby where the shooting occurred that may have surveillance cameras that captured moments of the encounter, he said.
The shooting is being reviewed by a coalition of investigators from different agencies who review officer involved shootings under the direction of Taylor's office, Jackson said. The two officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave, per standard protocol.
The social media post Sunday, around the same time more than 100 people gathered at a candlelight vigil for Hunt, only brought more attention to the shooting. On the police department's Facebook page, they asked for the public to be patient and rejected the notion that there was a cover-up.
"Everyone should remember that the news outlets have ratings they need to gain. They don't report facts. They use innuendo, opinion and rumor and then report it as fact," the post said. "The real facts are being determined by an independent investigation, and not in a rushed or haphazard manner."
Saratoga Springs Police Chief Andrew Burton on Monday apologized for the post, asking again for patience and understanding from the public and the news media as they work their way through an extremely complicated investigation. He said in a statement that their frustration about not being able to answer questions about the incident led to the post.
, an attorney for the family of Darrien Hunt, called it a foolish statement to make but said accusing the media of a bias when the facts aren't on your side is a common response.
"There are a lot of raw emotions over this very intense thing. You're going to have people who are going to make statements that later on reflection they are going to wish they hadn't made," Edwards told The .
Edwards said an independent autopsy requested by the family shows Hunt was shot six times, all from behind, which he said demonstrates that Hunt was running away. He said Hunt died from a bullet that hit him square in the back.
Taylor declined to comment on that autopsy, saying investigators are waiting to see the results of an autopsy done by the state medical examiner.
Police say the shooting happened Wednesday morning after they were called to investigate a "suspicious" man walking near businesses while carrying a "samurai-type sword."
Saratoga Springs is home to , who is vying to become the first black Republican woman ever elected to . She served as mayor of the city of 23,000 people from 2010 to early this year.
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An update on the man that was carrying a "sword", andwas shot by Police.
Katana's are not "play/toy" swords. They have some of the sharpest edges in the sword business.
Again, the real question here is why was he considered "suspicious?"
Perhaps it's not every day one sees someone carrying a sword on their shoulder. just saying..
Ok..if you're going to knit pick....having a sword in his "possession" Is that better? I may be the only one, but I find would it unusualto seesomeone walking down the street "In Posession" of a sword.
I've handled both real and fake weapons and, in many cases, you can't tell whether a weapon is real or a prop. In fact, the reason props are used is because they look real (and in fact some props can inflict substantial injury even though they aren't intended for combat). Many real swords are sold without sharpened edges which is not apparent unless you run your finger along it. Swords are deadly weapons. I wouldn't recommend that any officer test the sharpness of a blade by standing there and seeing if the wielder of the sword can cut through him. If someone came at me with a sword, I would assume it was real as well as sharp and I would shoot before he got anywhere close to striking distance.
On the other hand, an autopsy shows Hunt was shot in the back six times so he obviously wasn't rushing the officers and was likely running away. Some have noted that Hunt's attire suggests that he may have been cosplaying the character Mugen.
Maybe he pulled his sword thinking that the cops would know he was playing but, when he ran away brandishing a sword, the cops thought he was a dangerous armed nut . . . or maybe, because he was black, they didn't really care enough to exercise any restraint whatsoever.
Picture of Darrien Hunt before he was shot. He may have been cosplaying Mugen from Samurai Champloo.
Momma said it was a toy blade with a rounded edge and couldn't hurt anyone.
There was also a statement that he "charged" the officers.
Man, that's happening a lot, eh?
Where do you get the info that it was an "unsharpened" edge - momma's statement?
Or maybe because it was in the day time - or maybe because the sun was up - or maybe because the cops shoes were tight - or maybe . . . . . . .
As you've said before Randy - let's get the facts first - I'm all for that.
If this comment is directed at me, I'm not Randy. Anyway, we all want the facts. The cops can start with something really simple . . . like how Hunt was lunging at them with his back turned.
Oops.
Well, the "original" story had him advancing at the cops when they "first" started shooting - then he turned and started running away and they continued.
I swear - damn cops couldn't hit the broad side of a barn nowadays - just an editorial comment, nothing to do with the thread.
What a tragedy. (Moment of silence to think about it)
Thank you.