Last Updated on July 20, 2022
Utah police have released body camera footage showing an incident where a 4-year-old shot at police officers who were responding to a call at a McDonald’s drive-thru earlier this year.
On February 12th, the Unified Police Department received a report that a male brandished his firearm at McDonald’s employees after he was given an incorrect lunch order.
Police arrived on the scene around 1:30 PM and asked the 27-year-old suspect, Sadaat Johnson, to exit his vehicle.
Unified police had to pull Johnson out of the car after he refused to cooperate with police orders multiple times.
The Utah officers forcibly removed Johnson from the vehicle before handcuffing him on the sidewalk pavement. As officers began to handcuff Johnson on the ground, one officer yelled “Gun!” after they saw someone inside the vehicle pointing a firearm through the window, toward the officers.
Moments later, the weapon was fired. One officer managed to smack the firearm with their hand which led to the bullet hitting the upper part of the McDonald’s building. After officers ordered the individual to drop the weapon, they realized it was a small child.
RELATED: Cori Bush Spent $390K Of Campaign Funds On Private Security Despite Calling For Defunding Of Police
In the body cam footage, you can hear the child crying after the officers pull him out of the car.
Johnson was charged with child abuse, aggravated assault, and interference with an arresting officer in March.
Police records state the 4-year-old grabbed the firearm since “he wanted his daddy back.” The child also told police that his father told him “the police officer cannot open the door” during the event.
Fox News reported, “preliminary investigation indicated that the 27-year-old instructed his child to shoot at officers, police said.”
Despite security footage showing Johnson flashing his firearm at employees, he denied ever showing his gun to McDonald’s employees. Johnson claimed he “blacked out” after he argued with the employee about the order mishap.
This was not the first time his 4-year-old child had grabbed a gun before, Johnson told police.
“To have an adult think it is okay to encourage a [4]-year-old to pull a firearm and shoot at police illustrates how out of hand the campaign against police has gotten. This needs to stop and we need to come together as a community to find solutions to the challenges we face in our neighborhoods. Officers are here to protect and serve and we are beyond belief that something like [this] could happen,” Sheriff Rosie Rivers said in a statement.
WATCH:
The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake released bodycam footage of a 4-year-old boy shooting his father's gun at officers in a McDonald's parking lot on February 21, 2022. pic.twitter.com/J1YHSRpLzT
— The Daily Sneed™ (@Tr00peRR) July 20, 2022
Stay tuned to National File for any updates.
