In 2014 and 2015, a spate of deadly shootings by police officers grabbed headlines in Utah and put the public on edge. Two of the shootings occurred in the capital city and led to an investigation by the Salt Lake City Human Rights Commission.
A lack of public trust, a need for more accountability and increased training were among the critiques outlined in a recent report on the Salt Lake City Police Department.
The Human Rights Commission investigation began under then-Mayor Ralph Becker in 2015 after the shooting death of James Dudley Barker, 42, on Jan. 8 of that year near I Street and 2nd Avenue.