West Valley City Police released body-worn camera footage on Tuesday showing the fatal shooting of a man who charged at officers while swinging what appeared to be metal rods. The incident occurred on Sunday, Oct. 25, outside a storage building at the Towneplace Suites.
According to the released footage, employees called police after discovering a man in an outbuilding who reportedly threatened to shoot them. The video shows an officer attempting to get the man to exit the small building and drop the objects in his hands. After several requests were ignored, the lead officer sprayed a pepper spray type irritant into the structure before ordering the man to exit with empty hands.
A shirtless man, swinging what appeared to be a metal rod in each hand, exited the building and ran toward the lead officer while yelling. The video shows the officer running backward and firing approximately 11 shots. The man fell to the pavement and stopped moving; despite initial life-saving efforts by officers, he was declared dead at the scene.
The man was identified as 40-year-old Sebastian Cerda-Monti, whose last known address was in South Salt Lake. West Valley City Police Chief Colleen Jacobs stated that West Jordan is leading the investigation to follow officer-involved critical incident protocol.
The officer involved in the shooting is a veteran who joined the department 11 years ago this month and has been placed on administrative leave. Chief Jacobs noted that the incident is a life-altering event for the officer.
West Valley City Police stated that additional information will be shared as investigative findings are released.
