The official autopsy for Darrien Hunt was released on Tuesday and revealed that officers shot the 22-year-old unarmed Black man four times in the back.
Hunt was the young man who was fatally shot by officers in Utah after they claim he charged at them with a sword.
The sword was a part of the Japanese anime-inspired costume he had on at the time, the same costume that apparently prompted a bystander to call 911 on him.
Hunt’s story is the type of narrative that has become all too familiar for families all across the country.
After weeks of officers insisting they were attacked prior to gunning down a young Black man, an autopsy reveals that their story has a few holes in it.
The official state autopsy confirms what Hunt’s family already discovered after receiving results from an independent autopsy – Hunt was shot four times in the back.
Hunt was hit by a total of six shots.
Both autopsies also revealed that there were no drugs in Hunt’s system.
The Huffington Post reports that a narrative in the autopsy suggested that an “officer fired three shots when Hunt charged at him, swinging the sword, as the officer got out of his car. Hunt ran away and police fired four more times as they chased him.”
So far no evidence has been able to support claims by officers that Hunt charged at them with the sword – a sword that Hunt’s family explained was only decorative.
According to Hunt’s family’s attorney, Robert Sykes, the police’s version of events also seems unlikely considering a bystander captured a photo of the young man smiling and talking to officers a few moments before the incident.
According to the chief deputy at the Utah County Attorney’s Office, Tim Taylor, the investigation into the matter could be completed in a few more weeks.
Taylor claims that the trajectory of the shots indicates that Hunt could have been turning during the time the bullets were fired.
There is still much speculation about what happened during Hunt’s encounter with the officers who have been identified as Cpl. Matthew Schauerhamer and Officer Nicholas Judson.
Hunt’s family insists that the officers acted out of racial bias and used excessive force that resulted in the death of their loved one.
Officers, on the other hand, say race didn’t play a factor in what happened.
