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On Friday, August 26, the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) released a body camera video of a police encounter with an unarmed man named Nykon Brandon, who passed away soon after being arrested by authorities.
He had been detained after he allegedly entered a brewery in his underwear and attempted to steal beer.
The incident took place on August 14, and has since drawn a lot of heat from netizens who have questioned the methods used by the police and blamed the man's death on unnecessary use of force.
Disclaimer: The following video contains depictions of violence and may be disturbing to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.
On August 14, 2022, a 911 caller reported that a man in his underwear, identified as 35-year-old Nykon Brandon had tried to rob Fisher Brewing in the city's Granary District and assaulted a person at their door. The caller also reported that Brandon eventually ran out onto the street.
The caller said:
"I'm down at Fisher Brewing Company and a guy just tried to run in and steal beer. He's in his underwear and he's definitely a danger to himself and maybe the traffic around here too."
He added:
"He’s running around crazy, very erratic. He just jumped in and out of the road. He’s throwing stuff. Definitely mental health issues so if you've got mental health resources, send them out.”
A closer look at the series of events that led to Nykon Brandon's death
Nykon Brandon was reportedly arrested at 3:15 pm near Fisher Brewing on Sunday, August 14. His death was confirmed after he was taken to the Salt Lake City hospital that same day.
In the video footage released by SLCPD, Nykon Brandon can be seen in grey boxers sprinting across the street in an attempt to elude police officers at around. He is seen writhing and perhaps grabbing at an officer's holstered gun as officers asked the man to stop and attempted to detain him on the side of the road.
At a news conference, Mark Wian - who is with the Salt Lake City Police Department - reportedly stated at Brandon struggled with the officers trying to take him into custody. He also reported that two of the officers had been sustained "non-life-threatening" injuries in the tussle.
He also told sources that after being taken into custody, Brandon went unresponsive, prompting officers to begin administering naloxone and performing chest compressions.
In a press statement, SLCPD said that they had been notified of Brandon's death at around 4:16 pm. However, the exact time of death remains unconfirmed.
Speaking about the incident, SLCPD spokesperson Brent Weisberg said:
"As the body-worn camera video shows, this is a situation that rapidly unfolded. It was a chaotic situation and our officers were required to make very fast decisions to get a situation under control that was very tense."
Social media erupts over death of Nykon Brandon, call out SLCPD for carelessly dealing with the unarmed man
Brandon's death comes at a time when countless instances of police shootings continue to be recorded in the United States. A major chunk of these shootings are targeted at unarmed people, many of whom are often going through a mental health crisis.
Activists have asked for improvements, arguing that specific mental health crisis teams would be a better response option than armed police, who frequently aggravate situations.
Lex Scott, the Founder of Black-Lives Matter Utah, said:
"Stealing a beer does not equate to the death penalty. I don’t care if this man robbed 10 banks in one day. He didn’t deserve to die. He deserved to make it to court."
According to Nykon Brandon's Facebook page, he attended Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and worked for a company supplying plumbing, hardware, and appliances.
