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Alex Cabrero reportingThe Salt Lake Police Department released its investigative summary of last year's Trolley Square shootings.
Although it doesn't answer any questions as to why, it does introduce us to one man who did something remarkable.
The man's name is Barrett Dodds. He's the owner of the Brass Key antique shop at Trolley Square. He saw Sulejman Talovic shooting at people, but instead of running, Dodds yelled at Talovic to shoot at him, thinking it would distract Talovic and buy police time.
These days, things are a little slower for Barrett Dodds. Then again, owning an antique store, time and history are everything.
While he's always looking to buy a piece from the past, there's one thing he'd rather not have at all and can't get rid of. "I don't think a day goes by that somebody doesn't ask me about it," Dodds says. "Whether it be here or at the gym, somewhere, people are always asking."
On Feb. 12, Talovic was inside Trolley Square, and he only wanted to kill people. Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank says, "I mean, there was no question as to what he was trying to accomplish."
On Tuesday, Burbank released the investigative summary into the Trolley Square shootings. In it, Barrett Dodds is mentioned because he yelled, "Shoot at me! Shoot at me!" to Talovic.
Burbank said Dodds "was prepared to throw things over the railing at him [Talovic] in order to prevent this from occurring."
Dodds says, "I don't feel like a hero. I feel like anybody in my shoes would've done the same thing, I hope."
The thing is, nobody else did. Now, no one will ever know if his actions distracted Talovic for just a few seconds, seconds that might have allowed another potential victim to run away, but to Dodds it doesn't really matter.
Being in the antique business, you just have to let the past stay in the past.
Dodds says he's now trying to become a Salt Lake City police officer. He says he's always wanted to be one, and after seeing what happened last year, he wants to do it even more.
