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Patrick Harmon’s race was ‘substantial motivating favor’ in Salt Lake City officer’s decision to shoot, lawsuit alleges

The children of Patrick Harmon — a black man fatally shot by police in 2017 — are suing Salt Lake City, claiming Harmon’s death reflects an inadequately trained police force that is prone to racial profiling.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in 3rd District Court, names both Salt Lake City and the officer who fired, Clinton Fox, as defendants. Its description of the shooting relies heavily on video footage from police body cameras, alleging Fox used excessive force and caused Harmon’s wrongful death.

It also alleges the department’s policies, practices and trainings show deliberate indifference to constitutional rights, and asserts that both Fox and the city treated Harmon with unnecessary rigor and violated equal protection provisions in the Constitution.