Bodycam video shows deadly Sandy police shooting unfolded in 7 seconds
By: "Hey Dylan, let me see your hands, man. Dylan, let me see your hands."
Seven seconds later, a Sandy police officer fires his first volley of shots at 33-year-old Dylan William Murphy as Murphy rushes toward the officer.
"This incident escalated extremely quickly," Sandy Police Chief Greg Severson said.
The Sandy Police Department released body camera and dashboard camera video Friday of a fatal police shooting from March 26. The video shows the deadly confrontation unfold seemingly without warning, and an officer who shot at Murphy three separate times despite repeatedly telling the man to show his hands and "stay down."
According to Sandy police, officers were called to the area of 11650 S. Eagle Bend Road (1020 East) about 1 a.m. on a report of "an adult male who was reported to be suffering a mental health episode and possibly suicidal."
In a recording of the 911 call made by Murphy's brother that was also released Friday, the brother says Murphy had attempted suicide earlier that evening. He drove Murphy to a local hospital, but he refused to get out of the car, the brother told dispatchers. He took his brother back home, where he thought he was going to bed.
A short time later, however, he discovered blood all over Murphy's hands and in a bathroom.
Severson said Friday he later saw the injuries on Murphy's arm and called them "some of the worst selinflicted wounds I've seen."
After Murphy cut himself, the brother told emergency dispatchers that Murphy had left the house and the family was afraid that he'd "bleed out" somewhere. He asked if police would help find him. At that time, the family was unsure whether Murphy was armed, Severson said.
The first officer sent to the scene was already very close to the area.
"This officer was immediately in the area when the call came in. A second officer was dispatched to the scene. That officer was headed to a different call and was redirected to the scene and took some time to get there," the chief said.
The officer spotted Murphy walking along the sideway near 11640 South and 1000 East and followed him in his patrol car. In the videos, the officer asks for backup and tells dispatchers he can't see Murphy's right hand.
"He's got his right hand in his jacket, I can't see anything. He's just keeping it really tight," he tells dispatchers.
The police chief said typically in cases like this, officers like to wait for backup to arrive before engaging with a suspect. In this case, Murphy crossed the street in front of the officer, and then started walking toward him.
The officer gets out of his car and calls out to Murphy to show him his hands. But almost immediately, Murphy is seen in the videos running toward the officer. Murphy covered about 35 feet in just 2 seconds, according to Sandy police. The officer starts to back up and tries to get behind his patrol car.
Both body camera and dashcam videos show Murphy got within 2 to 3 feet of the officer before the officer fired three rounds. The officer then trips and falls to the ground on his back while backpedaling. Murphy, however, remains on his feet. It is unclear in the video whether he is actually hit or injured.
From the time the officer first ordered Murphy to show him his hands to when shots were fired, only seven seconds elapsed, according to police.
The officer again yells at Murphy to show his hands. His left hand is now visible after taking his coat off. But his right hand remains concealed inside his coat, which is dangling from his arm. As the officer gets on his feet and starts to back up again, Murphy is seen again rushing toward the officer in the video. Two more shots are fired, and this time Murphy falls to the ground and appears to be in pain as he lets out audible groans.
The officer tells dispatchers "shots fired" and yells at Murphy to show his hands as he lies on his stomach. In the video, Murphy initially appears to comply with the officer's commands. But he soon starts to slowly get up.
"Stay on the ground, I will shoot," the officer yells.
A little less than a minute after he was shot, Murphy is able to stand up once again. This time, both his hands are visible. He clinches both hands into fists, but does not appear in the video to be holding anything. He then starts to walk toward the officer again. The officer fires a third time, a single shot, and Murphy goes to the ground for the final time.
Sandy police have not said whether a weapon was found at the scene, noting that will be part of the investigation conducted by a task force assigned by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office to review the shooting.
When asked why the officer didn't use a Taser, Severson said he couldn't speculate on his officer's actions, but again pointed to how fast the situation unfolded and said officers are not trained to use "less-lethal" force during "deadly force encounters." He said his officer, who has been with the department for about two years, remained on paid administrative leave Friday pending the outcome of the task force's investigation and an internal review.
Severson said he has reached out to the Murphy family to offer the department's condolences and believes he has had "productive" conversations with the family.
In a joint statement released Friday, Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski and all seven members of the Sandy City Council said they were deeply saddened by the incident.
"Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Murphy as they work to come to terms with their loss. We also are thinking of the Sandy police officer and his family. As public elected officials, we are deeply committed to transparency and accountability. We support the prompt release of the video and audio recordings from the incident. In an effort to protect the integrity of the review and investigation process now underway, we will have no further statement at this time."