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SALT LAKE CITY — Police are investigating after a Utah Transit Authority officer shot a man near 900 South and 200 West Thursday night.
A man approached two UTA officers just after 9 p.m. and said he had been robbed. The man directed the officers to the west, where they spotted an individual who they say matched the description of the robber, according to UTA spokesman Carl Arky.
"Found somebody who matched the description, the individual that was allegedly responsible for the robbery, made contact with him. He drew his knife. Our officer drew his weapon," Arky said.
In an update Friday, Arky said the man pointed his knife at the officers and an officer "fired in self-defense."
The UTA officer shot the man, who was then taken to a local hospital in critical condition. He is described as 50 years old, and no other information about him has been released.
No one else was injured and TRAX service was not interrupted, Arky said.
Protocol requires an outside agency to investigate the shooting, and West Valley police will handle that.
"You have to find out what did happen tonight and you know, what took place when the officers made contact with the individual," Arky said. "Any law enforcement agency will tell you that they try to resolve things as peacefully as they possibly can, and I am sure that was what the intent of these two officers was tonight."
