An autopsy and other evidence indicate Saratoga Springs police used excessive force when they fatally shot Darrien Hunt last month because the 22-year-old man posed no danger to anyone, a lawyer for his family said Friday.
"Darrien was running from these officers and was deliberately shot in the back multiple times," attorney Robert Sykes said at a news conference, where he released a report on an autopsy commissioned by the Hunt family.
Sykes said he has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the shooting. And Hunt's mother, Susan, said she plans to file a wrongful-death suit against the Saratoga Springs Police Department.
A tearful Hunt said her son was not aggressive during his encounter with the police and that there was nothing that justified the shooting.
The shooting of Hunt, who was black, has received national media attention amid controversy over the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and other black civilians elsewhere.
On the morning of Sept. 10, a 911 caller reported seeing a man walking with a samurai-style sword near Walmart at Redwood Road and State Road 73.
Cpl. Matthew Schauerhamer and Officer Nicholas Judson confronted the 22-year-old Hunt at an adjacent shopping area; he was shot near a Panda Express restaurant.
Hunt's relatives have said the sword, which they call a "katana," was a toy. It was metal, but had a rounded blade that would not cut, they said.
They also say Hunt that day was cosplaying, or costumed role-playing, and pointed to similarities between his apparel that day and that of the character Mugen from the popular animé series Samurai Champloo. Hunt's sketchbooks of Manga-style drawings were displayed at his funeral.
The private autopsy report by pathologist J. Wallace Graham, a former chief medical examiner for Utah, says Hunt was shot six times. Graham says three of the wounds — in the lower back, right shoulder and elbow — were caused by bullets that entered the body from the back.
A shot that hit the left thigh traveled from the left of the body to the right. No direction was listed for the other two bullets that struck Hunt, in the right wrist and left thigh.
Sykes said he believes all but one of the bullets penetrated Hunt's body from behind, which he calls "inexcusable."
In addition to the autopsy findings, Sykes said statements from a woman who witnessed part of the encounter show Hunt was shot while fleeing.
The woman had taken a photo of a smiling Hunt flanked by two police officers and was looking down as she started her car when she heard gunshots, Sykes said. He said that when the woman looked up, she saw Hunt running from the officers.
Sykes is asking any other witnesses to the shooting to contact him.
The Utah County Attorney's Office is investigating the shooting. Tim Taylor, deputy county attorney, said last week that Hunt did swing a sword at police but was not shot at that point. He told The Tribune that a pursuit followed but would not discuss the distance or duration of the foot chase, saying only that "the scene takes place over a certain distance."
Taylor is waiting for a medical examiner's report before he rules on whether the shooting was justified. An autopsy is necessary to settle the crucial question of whether Hunt was shot from the front or from behind, he said.
Owen Jackson, police spokesman, said Friday that he could not comment on the case while an investigation is ongoing.
pmanson@sltrib.com
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC
