Salt Lake authorities released bodycam footage this week, following the shooting of an autistic 13-year-old boy who was having a “meltdown,” prompting his mother to contact the police for help.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the incident that happened September 4 in Glendale, after Golda Barton contacted police for assistance with her 13-year-old son, Linden. According to Barton, her son, who has Asperger syndrome, was in the middle of a meltdown when she reached out to police, hoping to get help from a crisis intervention team (CIT).
Barton previously told CBS 2 that she told the responding officers her son wasn’t armed. Released bodycam footage revealed the conversation Barton had with the officers when they arrived at the scene.
Officer: “We have some notes about some weapons possibly in the house.”
Barton: “Yeah, I don’t…I do know that my worker was like, ‘Do you know Linden has a BB gun?'”
Officer: “Are you sure it’s a BB gun?”
Barton: “I don’t know if it’s a BB gun, I don’t know if it’s a pellet gun, I don’t know if it’s a prop weapon.”
Officer: “You don’t know if it’s a real gun?”
Barton: “I don’t believe it’s a real gun.”
Officer: “So, unfortunately, we kind of have to treat them as if they are.”
Barton: “Right, I know.”
Barton said her son “has bad separation anxiety” and was upset that she had to return to work after being home with him for most of the year.
When officers arrived, they walked to the home and within less than five minutes, began shouting at Linden to get on the ground after he jumped over the fence in the backyard. Shortly after, officers shot the boy.
“I don’t feel good,” Cameron said while on the ground after the shots. “Tell my mom I love her.”
Linden is now in the hospital in “serious condition,” according to Sgt. Keith Horrocks, with wounds to his ankles, intestines, shoulder, and bladder.
“He’s a small child,” Barton told CBS 2. “Why didn’t you just tackle him? He’s a baby. He has mental issues.”
The Salt Lake City Police Department said in response that officers were dispatched to a report of a boy who “made threats to some folks with a weapon,” The Salt Lake Tribune reports.
No weapons were found on Linden. Barton said her son ran from the officers because he didn’t want to go to the hospital for mental health treatment.
An attorney for the family, Zach Weyher, said that Linden, who remains hospitalized, was “lucky to be alive,” ABC 9 reports.
“Whatever happened, it was a 13-year-old boy who was unarmed. The police were called for a mental-health call, not a criminal act,” Weyher said. “A child is laying in a hospital bed … there has to be a better response.”
An investigation into the incident launched immediately after the shooting. Salt Lake Mayor Erin Mendenhall promised a transparent intervention into the investigation.
“While the full details of this incident are yet to be released as an investigation takes place, I will say that I am thankful this young boy is alive and no one else was injured.
“No matter the circumstances, what happened on Friday night is a tragedy, and I expect this investigation to be handled swiftly and transparently for the sake of everyone involved.”
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help with Linden’s medical expenses.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Linden Cameron/GoFundMe]
