Salt Lake City PD release footage of death of restrained man

The Salt Lake City Police Department on Friday released body-camera footage showing officers restraining an unarmed man who died roughly an hour later.

A 911 call placed on Aug. 14 reported that a man in underwear had attempted to steal beer from Fisher Brewing in the city’s Granary District neighborhood and attacked a person at their door. The man, 35-year-old Nykon Brandon, fled the store and proceeded to run into the road.

“He’s running around crazy, very erratic,” the caller said. “He just jumped in and out of the road. He’s throwing stuff.”

According to an SLCD press release, officers were dispatched at 3:16 p.m. local time. In a roughly six-minute video of footage from an officer’s body-cam, Brandon is in grey boxers and can be seen darting around on the street while trying to avoid police officers. As police order the man to stop and attempt restrain him on the side of the road, Brandon can be seen flailing and appears to grab at an officer’s holstered gun.

Video shows officers eventually restraining Brandon facedown in the gravel with his hands behind his back in handcuffs and whimpering.

At one point, according to an SLCPD press release, Brandon is reported to have had a medical incident. Officers administer several doses of the anti-overdose medication Narcan and perform chest compressions.

Brandon was taken to a hospital and later died, FOX 13 reported.

The department said it was notified Brandon died at 4:16, although “the exact time of death is unknown.”

The 911 caller noted that the man “definitely mental health issues going on so…if you’ve got mental health resources send them.”

KUTV reported that just before the late afternoon call on Aug. 14, South Salt Lake police officers earlier in the day had responded to a 911 report involving Brandon.

Officers had been dispatched in response to a report of a man “acting confused and scared,” the station reported. They took him to a Salt Lake City detox facility and cited him for public intoxication, but because the facility is not a detention center, he was free to leave at his own choosing.

In a statement following the release of the body-cam footage, SLCPD Chief Mike Brown said: “We are committed to carefully reviewing the investigative findings in this case. As a forward-thinking department, we will use those findings to evaluate our policies, training, and procedures to continue ensuring we are making our city safer.”