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SALT LAKE CITY — A community activist in Salt Lake City and former school board member was arrested over the weekend and accused of firing several rounds at another vehicle and accidentally hitting an uninvolved third vehicle.
Jon Michael Clara, 55, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of illegal discharge of a firearm.
The incident happened Saturday night near 900 West and 200 South. According to a police affidavit, Clara was driving his car when he was “struck multiple times by another vehicle.”
Salt Lake police on Monday said it was unknown if Clara was intentionally hit.
Clara responded by getting out of his car and firing multiple rounds at the vehicle that struck him, the affidavit states. That vehicle was facing the opposite direction and fled the scene.
One of Clara’s shots hit a third vehicle that was not involved in the initial crash, according to police. The shot “hit the back window and went out the windshield, almost hitting the driver and his young child who were inside it,” the affidavit states.
The vehicle that initially hit Clara crashed into a fence a short distance away and the driver ran off, according to police. Investigators learned that the car was stolen. Police K-9s were used to try and locate the driver, but as of Monday he had not been found.
The incident comes on the heels of a report that shots were fired near Clara’s Poplar Grove home on Nov. 19. According to police, several shell casings were found spread out along the street. No damage was reported and no one was injured. It was unknown Monday whether the shooting and Saturday’s crash are related.
Clara responded by getting out of his car and firing multiple rounds at the vehicle that struck him, the affidavit states.
Clara is a community organizer who works with Crossroads Urban Center and has been a longtime activist for the west side of Salt Lake City. He is also a former Salt Lake City School Board member and was a transit planner with UTA for nearly 20 years.
When reached for comment Monday, Clara declined to discuss the arrest, referring questions instead to his attorney.
Attorney Clayton Simms hopes that his client will not be formally charged by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
“It was completely and totally self-defense,” he said. “He was simply reacting to that danger.”
Simms said Clara does not know who hit him, or a motive. He did not know Monday if Clara had received any threats recently.
Simms said the stolen vehicle that hit him actually turned Clara’s car around, like a police PIT maneuver, then hit him again. He said because of that, Clara’s conduct was justified.
“If you act in self-defense then you are allowed to shoot a firearm,” Simms said.
