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HOLLADAY — A man is in serious condition after a shooting involving police that took place near a school bus in Holladay after a crash.
It happened Thursday afternoon near 4500 S. 2300 East in Holladay, Unified Police Department officials tweeted shortly after 3 p.m. A Unified police officer was pumping gas and witnessed a crash between a truck and a motorcycle, according to Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
"(The motorcycle driver) just rips it through the light while it's red and I was like what's happening," said witness Elijah Flax.
Flax said the truck hit the motorcycle, throwing the driver off the bike.
Rivera said the officer approached the scene and saw the motorcycle driver running away. “There was a short foot pursuit (and) when they did catch up to him there was a fight. From talking with witnesses, it was a pretty aggressive fight with the officer,” she said. “The individual picked up a gun that was on the ground, pointed it at the officer, and the officer fired at him.”
Unified police identified the motorcycle driver as Eric Pectol, 49, of Layton. Pectol was taken to the hospital in serious condition, officers told KSL TV. UPD said no officers were shot. Initial reports indicated that an officer was injured but have since been corrected.
The altercation between the officer and Pectol occurred on the side of the road in front of a school bus, as seen on video taken by Flax. Witnesses said they heard Pectol say he had a gun, but Rivera said investigators don't know whether it was his weapon.
We just got this video from a person who saw what happened. It appears that a person was running away from police.
— Ashley Moser (@AshleyMoser) September 17, 2020
You can see something drop to the ground, a person goes to grab for it. We pause it before that person goes down. Latest at 5:00 @KSL5TVpic.twitter.com/YVjwBIrnzk
The video shows Pectol running at the officer, causing a scuffle where the officer drops a gun and falls to the ground. Pectol quickly picks up the gun and points it at the officer. Then at least one officer fires several rounds of ammunition.
Granite School District spokesperson Ben Horsely said the bus was a special education bus with five junior-high age students on board.
Police called the situation an "officer-involved critical incident." Protocol Team 1 is handling the investigation and is asking any witnesses to contact police with any information they may have.
Contributing: Matt Rascon, KSL TV
