Man killed in officer-involved shooting shared disdain for police, said he expected to die
Apr 17, 2018, 10:13 PM | Updated: Apr 18, 2018, 1:31 am
MAGNA, Utah – For several hours Tuesday morning, investigators combed through the scene, at 2751 South 8400 West. Nearby neighbors say they woke up to the commotion just before 4 a.m.
“I remember the gunshots. I thought I was dreaming at first,” Lloyd Behunin recalled. “My wife woke me up and said, ‘There’s gunshots!’ so, I jumped out of bed, grabbed my phone, (and) ran out the door.”
Unified Police say the incident all started around 3 a.m. A man, who sounded agitated, called 911. According to Lieutenant Brian Lohrke, the man said, “Tell your officers to back off, or I will shove this knife through her throat.”
Lorhke said police were not at the scene of any incident at that time, but were able to ping the location of the cellphone that took them to an apartment in Millcreek. Officers saw a pickup truck leaving the area, but didn’t notice anything suspicious.
Tom Adamson
Around the same time, West Valley Police said they received a call from a man threatening a woman. They spotted the same truck near 5600 West and 3100 South, where a chase began, ultimately leading them to the area where the shooting took place.
Nearby neighbor, Tom Adamson recalls going outside after hearing multiple police cruisers pull up.
“I just saw cops, pointing their guns,” he said. “I went back in the house and that’s when I heard shots fired.”
On Sunday, 41-year-old Lonnie Marcel Bowen had posted a live Facebook video, sharing his disdain for law enforcement.
“Salt Lake City PD are killers,” the video starts. “And they are responsible for anything that happens to me, death-wise.”
Bowen speaks for more than four minutes, at times mentioning a gang affiliation. He repeatedly eludes to his impending death.
“They gonna make my death look like a drug deal gone bad,” Bowen said in the video. “I know they gunning for me. I know they waiting for me.”
Bowen died at the scene, after multiple shots were fired. A woman who was inside the truck was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Salt Lake City police said that in the past month, they’ve had three interactions with Bowen; none of them negative. They said one of them was over mental health issues.
Related: Police chase ends with officer shooting, killing man in Magna
