Investigations Launched Into Salt Lake City Police Shooting Of 13-Year-Old Autistic Boy

The Salt Lake City Police Department said it will cooperate in the investigation of the shooting of a 13-year-old autistic boy, who was severely injured after being shot at by officers Sept. 4.

The incident happened when Golda Barton called the police to help manage a mental episode of her son, Linden Cameron, who attemped to flea when officers arrived. Barton said Cameron was unarmed when he was shot several times.

While speaking to KUTV about the shooting, Barton said she requested a crisis intervention team (CIT) after Cameron experienced a “mental breakdown.” Barton, who had just returned to work for the first time in nearly a year, said her son “has had bad separation anxiety” and that he needed to be transported to the hospital.

“I said, he's unarmed, he doesn't have anything, he just gets mad and he starts yelling and screaming. He's a kid he's trying to get attention, he doesn't know how to regulate,” Barton said she told police.

Barton told KUTV two responding officers entered her home in the Glendale neighborhood and in less than 5 minutes, she heard someone yell "get down on the ground" three times followed by several gunshots. Officers didn’t immediately say if Cameron was dead and later handcuffed him, Barton added.

"Why didn't they tase him? Why didn't they shoot him with a rubber bullet?" Golda 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."

As a result of the shooting, Cameron suffered injuries to his shoulder, both ankles, intestines, and bladder, Barton told KUTV.

Whenever an officer is involved in a 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 co-operating fully with the protocol team assigned to this case," the department said Tuesday, according to Associated Press.

According to the department, the city's "Civilian Review Board and our own Internal Affairs will also conduct parallel separate investigations."

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall called the shooting a tragedy in a statement given to The Salt Lake Tribune on Sept. 6. She said she expects the investigation "to be handled swiftly and transparently."

"While the full details of this incident are yet to be released as an investigation takes place, I will say that I am thankful this young boy is alive and no one else was injured," she was quoted by the publication as saying. "No matter the circumstances, what happened on Friday night is a tragedy, and I expect this investigation to be handled swiftly and transparently for the sake of everyone involved."

It remains unclear whether the boy had any weapon or what exactly prompted the officers to open fire. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, no weapon was found at the scene.

Salt Lake City Police Department detective Greg Wilking told CNN on Tuesday that he could not specifically tell "what the officers' perceived threats were," and that the answers will be revealed after the investigation.

"Mom can say whatever she wants, but there's this investigation that has to happen and this process that has to take place," Wilking told CNN.

Salt Lake City Police Sergeant Keith Horrocks said in a news conference Sept. 5 that officers responded to the area about a "violent psych issue" involving a juvenile who was "making threats to some folks with a weapon."