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SARATOGA SPRINGS — The caller's voice is not excited or panicked.
He tells the 911 dispatcher that there's a man in a red shirt walking along Redwood Road near the Wal-Mart. The caller did not indicate that the man was threatening anyone.
"But he was carrying a samurai sword," the caller told the dispatcher.
On Thursday, the Utah Valley Dispatch Special Service District released a copy of the lone 911 call made on Sept. 10 that prompted police to investigate. Shortly after the call, 22-year-old Darrien Hunt was shot six times by two Saratoga Springs police officers. The recording was released to KSL through a public records request.
The three minute call offers no information about how Hunt was acting at the time. The caller, who was a motorist on his way to work, only provided a description of Hunt and his location.
Hunt was walking in the area of Crossroads Boulevard and Redwood Road about 9:40 a.m. when officers were called on a report of a "suspicious person," according to police. He was walking in a strip mall area that included a Panda Express restaurant on Redwood Road, a gas station, an auto parts store and a credit union, while carrying a samurai sword.
Witness accounts of what Hunt was doing ranged from him acting suspiciously to being a man who stood out in the crowd but seemed to be calm, listening to his music and minding his own business.
Saratoga Springs Police Cpl. Matt Schauerhamer and officer Nicholas Judson confronted Hunt in the parking lot of a credit union. What words were exchanged between Hunt and the officers remained unknown Thursday. The Utah County Attorney's Office says Hunt lunged at them with the sword.
At some point a shot was fired and Hunt ran. Approximately 200 yards later, outside the nearby Panda Express, Hunt was shot in the back several times and killed, according to the Hunt family's attorney.
The family believes the shooting was racially motivated. They say the 3-foot katana sword he was carrying was a souvenir and not an actual samurai sword. Family members say they believe Hunt was costume playing, or "cosplaying" — the act of dressing up as an animation character — when he was confronted.
Also on Thursday, it was revealed that the Hunt family has switched attorneys. They are no longer being represented by Randall Edwards, but instead by Rachel Sykes, with Robert B. Sykes and Associates. No explanation was given for the change.
Hunt's family is saying the 911 call supports their belief that the shooting wasn't legally justified, which their new attorney reiterated.
"What I'm saying is there was no reason to use deadly force here," Robert B. Sykes said.
Sykes said a picture in his possession shows Hunt smiling "seconds before there were shots fired," and that Hunt was not a threat. He also said a witness told the family she looked down to start her car, heard a shot and looked up to see Hunt running.
"These police officers are apparently chasing him and firing, is what we think happened," Sykes said.
Sykes said the family's autopsy showed Hunt was shot in the wrist once and in the back five times.
Prosecutors maintain that witness saw Hunt lunge at officers, but police are only commenting on the 911 call. Saratoga Springs Police Chief Andrew Burton said the fact the 911 caller was willing to give his name to dispatch underscores the caller's concern over the situation he was seeing.
"I think the fact that the individual was willing to give his name and phone number lends some credibility to the report or the reason that he's calling," Burton said.
