This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Unified Police Department officer who shot a fleeing but unarmed suspect in the shoulder after a Wednesday afternoon traffic stop in Kearns was identified Friday as Cordell Whitmore.
Whitmore — an eight-year veteran with the department — was one of two UPD officers who pulled over a car on 6200 South about 3:15 p.m., said Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder, to arrest a male passenger for outstanding misdemeanor warrants pertaining to assault and drug cases. (Police had earlier said they were felony warrants.)
During a Friday news conference, Winder identified the man who was shot as 20-year-old Damian Scott Huth.
When the driver — "an uninvolved family member" — stopped, the suspect's wife, 18-year-old Kelli Huth, got out of the backseat and attacked one of the officers, allowing Damian Huth to flee on foot, Winder said. Whitmore chased after him.
Huth jumped over a fence and into the backyard of a home at about 5800 West, Winder said. At some point Whitmore fired one shot that hit Huth in the right shoulder. Huth kept running and fell down near a bridge.
The Salt Lake City Police Department — the agency conducting the investigation because Unified Police officers were involved — recovered a shell casing at the scene indicating Huth had fled 100-200 yards after being shot, Winder said. State law requires that officer-involved shootings be investigated by a separate law enforcement agency.
Whitmore, who has been placed on paid administrative leave, suffered cut hands and a lacerated abdomen, probably from scaling a barbed wire fence during the pursuit, Winder said, adding that the officer was in "good" condition on Friday.
The other officer, after hearing the gunshot, ran to help Whitmore, police have said.
"This particular incident is somewhat unique in that the circumstances as to what occurred at the specific moment that Mr. Huth was shot are known predominantly by the shooting officer and by the suspect," Winder said. "Both of those individuals have yet to be interviewed."
Huth and Whitmore have due process rights to seek lawyers before speaking about the incident, Winder said.
Huth did not have a weapon, and Winder has said it was unclear why Whitmore fired. The officer was not wearing a body camera, due to "financial constraints" in the department.
A witness standing on a nearby bridge recorded the officers rendering aid, Winder said, which included Whitmore and the other officer applying a tourniquet to Huth's wound before paramedics arrived. That video was turned over to the police.
"It has been the pattern of Unified Police Department to be as transparent as possible as it relates to the incidents involving officers and use of deadly force," Winder said. "We feel we have been so with this particular incident."
Damian Huth remained hospitalized Friday in stable condition, Winder said, adding that he is expected to be released soon from the hospital.
Kelli Huth was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of felony counts of escape from official custody and harboring an escapee, as well as misdemeanor interference with an arresting officer.
Two warrants for Damian Huth's arrest were issued last month by 3rd District Court judges.
In one case, Huth was charged in August with class A misdemeanor possession of cocaine and class B possession of drug paraphernalia after a Salt Lake City police officer saw him sitting at 360 S. 500 West with "three white small rocks" in his hand. A $2,500 warrant was issued Sept. 26 after Huth failed to show for his initial court appearance.
The other case, filed in 2014, stemmed from a fight that Huth, then 18, had with his 14-year sister and father, in which he choked his sister and punched and bit his father and threatened to hit the older man with a metal scooter.
Huth was charged with two counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault, but pleaded guilty to reduced class A misdemeanor counts. Huth was sentenced to probation with jail time and in-patient treatment. A no-bail warrant was issued on Sept. 9 for allegedly failing to stay in contact with his probation officer, court records show.
Prior to his employment with UPD, Whitmore served with another county law enforcement agency as a deputy and paramedic, police said
Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner