Police release name of man fatally shot by officer in Kearns

Officer-involved shooting in Kearns Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020.

(Derek Petersen, KSL TV)


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UPDATE: Police on Friday released the name of the man shot and killed by an officer in Kearns Tuesday.

The Unified Police Department identified him in a tweet as Andrew S. Gwynn, age 30.


KEARNS — An officer shot and killed a man early Tuesday morning in Kearns after police say the man pulled a handgun out on the officer.

About 5:10 a.m., the Unified police officer contacted the man, who was walking near the intersection of 5400 South and Rockford Street, which is about 5300 West, according to Unified police detective Kevin Mallory.

The officer had asked the man for his ID and had gone to run a check on his ID when the man fled on foot, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. The officer ran after the man and pursued him for a short time before the shooting occurred.

“There was some type of situation where the individual pulled a handgun out on the officer and the officer did shoot the individual, and he is deceased," Rivera said.

Rivera said the man who was killed appeared to be about 30 years old, but further information about him was not available. His name has not been released. Rivera did not know if the man shot at the officer, but the officer was not injured.

Per protocol for all law enforcement agencies in Salt Lake County, an officer-involved critical incident investigation team from an agency other than Unified police was called out to investigate the shooting. Rivera did not know which other agency had been assigned to investigate Tuesday's shooting.

Rivera had few other details about the circumstances of the shooting and what led up to it since the other agency is investigating the situation; however, she said the officer who shot the man was doing "proactive patrol" in the neighborhood where the shooting took place.

Since vehicle and home burglaries are somewhat common in the Salt Lake Valley, Unified officers are asked to patrol neighborhoods late at night and early in the morning to make sure neighborhoods are safe, she said. If someone is walking around a neighborhood during those times, officers are asked to figure out what those people are doing, the sheriff added.

“That's what our residents want us to do is to ensure that we’re checking their neighborhoods and making sure everything is safe," Rivera said. "Their expectation is that police keep them safe."

Officers are asked to go out and patrol neighborhoods during those overnight hours instead of waiting around for things to happen, said Rivera, who said she has previously worked overnight shifts during her career.

She did not know if any residents in the area had reported any crimes before the shooting took place Tuesday morning. She did not know what the man who was killed was doing in the area with a handgun.

Rivera also didn't know if the officer who shot the man was with any other officers at the time, or if he was wearing a body camera. About one-third of Unified officers have body cameras, she added.

The officer has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted, Rivera said. After the investigation is complete, authorities will determine if the officer can go back to his regular police duties, she said.

The officer was not identified, but Rivera said she personally hired him to the force and he is a "very good officer."

Police closed all traffic lanes in both directions of 5400 South and 5200 West, the KSL Traffic Center reported. Westbound lanes of 5400 South have since reopened, but eastbound lanes are expected to be impacted for four hours or more while the shooting investigation is conducted, according to Rivera.

As of 7:15 a.m., traffic is being allowed through in one lane in each direction, according to the KSL Traffic Center.

This is the second deadly police shooting this week after a shooting took place in West Jordan on Sunday.

We're working on gathering more information and will be updating this story throughout the day.

Contributing: John Wojcik, KSL NewsRadio; Felicia Martinez, Derek Petersen and Sean Moody, KSL TV

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Linda Williams is KSL.com's early morning web producer. She joined KSL.com after many years at KSL TV. Linda graduated with a communications degree from Brigham Young University and now calls Idaho home.

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