SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake police officer Matthew Taylor had already been knocked to the ground by a snow shovel and his Taser had also been knocked out of his hand.

But instead of running away from the officer, James Dudley Barker, 42, continued to attack him.

Moments later, Taylor fired three rounds, shooting and killing Barker, who he believed wasn't going to stop until he killed him first, according to newly released statements.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill ruled Monday that the Jan. 8 shooting death of Barker was legally justified and said Taylor fired because he reasonably believed that his life was in danger.

Taylor responded that day to Avenues neighborhood near Second Avenue and I Street where a resident had complained about a man knocking on doors. The man had reportedly been inquiring about snow shoveling jobs even though all the walkways in the neighborhood were mostly clear. The neighbor told police he had seen the man the day before looking into car windows.

When Taylor confronted Barker on a resident's porch, he appeared to be initially calm and cooperative. But when Taylor insisted that Barker give the officer his name, the encounter "went south," the officer told the district attorney's office, and Barker went went from "zero to 100."

Barker angrily pointed a finger at the officer and yelled at him, Gill's report states. "Go back to your car, I'm doing my business," Barker angrily screamed at the officer.

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Taylor called for backup and said he was about to go "hands on" with Barker when the man backed up and took a fighting stance, holding his shovel like a baseball bat. Taylor said as he was about to run off the porch, he was hit the first time with the shovel and knocked to the ground, according to the report.

Taylor said he immediately knew something was wrong with his right arm. It would later be determined that the officer suffered fractures in his arm and foot.

Taylor said he grabbed his Taser, but Barker knocked it out of his hand as he continued hitting the officer with the shovel, the report states. At that point Taylor said he "knew (he) was in a lot of trouble."

Taylor told investigators that most suspects he has dealt with during his career would have typically run away in such a situation. "Officer Taylor said that Mr. Barker did not flee after he hit officer Taylor, but rather continued to fight officer Taylor," according to the report. "Officer Taylor said he believed Mr. Barker didn't want to escape."

"Anybody attacking me that hard … like I said, I've had guys fight me but they run away. When I got knocked off, he had plenty of time to run away," Taylor told investigators.

The officer said Barker grabbed his holster or gun at least twice.

"I know if he gets my gun, he's going to kill me," the report quotes Taylor as saying. "He's still coming. (He's) grabbing for my gun. His one goal was to try and kill me."

Taylor said he was able to push Barker back, draw his gun and fire from a few feet away. He then placed Barker in handcuffs for safety and called for medical assistance. Barker was pronounced dead at the scene.

In his report, Gill quoted two other witnesses who saw the officer being beaten by Barker. He also included pictures of hard plastic shovel fragments that were broken off when the shovel hit Taylor.

Taylor was wearing a body camera during the incident. It stopped recording shortly after he was hit by the shovel and the camera was knocked off of the officer's uniform.

Contributing: Ashley Kewish

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