SALT LAKE CITY — As the investigation into the fatal officer-involved shooting of a shovel-wielding man continued Monday, so did the public debate surrounding the actions leading up to the incident.

James Dudley Barker, 42, was shot and killed Thursday in front of an Avenues home close to where he lived.

A Salt Lake police officer, whose name has not yet been released, was called to the area of 2nd Avenue and I Street on a report of a suspicious person approaching homes looking for snow shoveling jobs. The man is believed to be the same person some residents saw looking in car windows the day before, according to police.

Although video from the officer's body camera was released almost immediately, there have been opposing views about what the video shows.

During the first minute of the video, the officer asks for Barker's name, tells him he's received a couple of complaints and points out that there really isn't any snow on the walkways for him to shovel.

"All right, well, I'll wait for it to snow again, and then I'll be back out," Barker eventually says with a shrug.

At this point, it appears Barker is ready to take his shovel and walk away. But the officer again asks for his name.

It's at that point, without warning, that Barker's demeanor changes from calm to aggressive and he screams at the officer, "I'm trying to make a living!"

"You need to calm down and quit yelling at me right now," the officer replies in a calm voice.

"Go back to your car, I'm doing my business," Barker angrily tells the officer while pointing his finger at him.

Under Utah law, it is a crime if a person who has been legally stopped does not disclose their identity to an officer conducting an investigation. The state's criminal code also says that an officer "may stop any person in a public place when he has a reasonable suspicion to believe he has committed or is in the act of committing or is attempting to commit a public offense and may demand his name, address and an explanation of his actions."

After Barker told the officer that he has a business license for shoveling snow, the officer is legally allowed to ask for proof of identification as well as conduct an investigation, said Salt Lake Police Association President Michael Millard.

Just short of two minutes after his initial contact with Barker, the officer is seen in the video raising his left hand. Some have questioned whether the officer shoved Barker, although it does not appear in the video footage that he does.

Millard, who has not talked to the officer, said police are taught to keep at least an arm's distance away from an agitated suspect. Many times, an officer will physically raise his or her arm to determine that distance.

"In his training, (raising an arm) would be to create distance to keep a person from coming closer," he said.

Whether the officer on Thursday was holding up his hand to motion to Barker to stop, whether he was trying to create space, or whether he was attempting to grab Barker's shovel as others have speculated, Millard said he doesn't know.

But he does believe that the officer followed proper training.

"I thought he was very professional in his interaction with him. He was nice. He didn't raise his voice. He tried to explain what was going on," the union president said.

On Saturday, friends of Barker joined with the group Utah Against Police Brutality outside the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building to remember Barker and raise questions about officer training as it relates to restraint and de-escalation.

Related:

Friends blame police officer for altercation that left Salt Lake man dead

Nearly 200 people gathered outside the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building Saturday afternoon in memory of James Dudley Barker who was killed by a police officer and to demand answers.

"I saw the fear in James' eyes in that video. I saw it," his girlfriend, Heidi Keilbaugh, told the approximately 200 people who gathered.

Danny Warner, a longtime friend of Barker, thought both sides should have backed down.

"I wish (James) would have answered (the officer with) his name. But I wish the cop would have stepped back," he said.

As soon as the officer raises his hand toward Barker, the body camera video shows Barker taking a step back and raising his shovel before he stepping forward and swinging it at the officer.

The video spins as the officer is knocked off of the front porch and onto the ground. Then comes another hit from the shovel while he is on the ground. At this point, the video shows that a portion of the hard plastic shovel has been broken off.

The officer can be seen on the ground holding something in his left hand. It's unclear whether it's his gun or a two-way radio microphone. Shortly after the latest hit from the shovel, the body camera is apparently damaged and stops recording.

The shots were fired right after the body camera stopped recording. Millard said there was "more" that happened after the camera was broken, but he couldn't talk about it on Monday. He said that information will likely come out after the investigation is completed.

The officer suffered fractured bones in his arm and foot during the incident.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office will conduct an investigation into the episode, which includes an interview with the officer.

The officer was placed on standard paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Related topics