A Utah man was arrested after he allegedly instructed his four-year-old child to shoot at the police officers from the car they were travelling in. The man, identified as Sadaat Johnson, was reportedly angry over his delayed order at McDonald's drive thru in Midvale.
The police officers had arrived at the scene following a call from the employees at the outlet.
Man Threatened McDonald's Employees with a Gun
In the incident that took place around 1.30 pm on Monday, 27-year-old arrived at the McDonald's drive-thru in his car and two children who were seated in the back seat.
CBS News reported that according to the police report, after Johnson received the wrong order, he became angry and "brandished a firearm" at the employees. However, the employees then asked Johnson to drive to the front of the outlet as they fixed his order. It was then the McDonald's employees called the police.
The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake said that after the responding officers reached the spot, they gave 'several verbal commands' asking Johnson to come out of car.
Upon his repeated refusal, the officers proceeded to pull him out of the car and place him under arrest. The police said that as Johnson was being pulled out of the car, "an officer turned back toward the vehicle and saw a gun pointing out from the rear window."
Police Calls It a 'Sad Day' For Law Enforcement and Community
However, the officer moved aside as the gun was fired and escaped with a minor injury. The bullet tore through the McDonald's banner outside the outlet. After the shot was fired the officer saw Johnson's four-year-old holding the firearm in the car's backseat.
Witnesses said they heard the father tell his child to shoot. The bullet ripped through the McDonald's banner, and the officer was slightly injured, KTVX reported.
Daily News reported that the witnesses heard the father instruct his child to shoot at the officers as he was being pulled out of the car and being handcuffed.
In a statement issued later, Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera called it a sad day for law enforcement and our community.
"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 [that] could happen," the statement read.
