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Protestors take to SLC mayor’s office to request meeting over officer-involved shooting

Posted at 9:41 PM, Jan 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-11 00:09:23-05

SALT LAKE CITY — Protestors chanted outside of Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski’s office Thursday, trying to get a meeting, they claim to have been requesting for weeks.

“Justice for Cody! Justice for Cody!” the group could be heard chanting in the hallways outside of the mayor's office.

The protestors are hoping to find answers about an officer-involved shooting that claimed the life of one of their friends and family members in November of 2018.

“Jackie we want a meeting, Jackie! Please hear us out Jackie, we want a meeting with you,” one of the protestors shouted.

Cody Balgard was shot and killed by Salt Lake City Police officers on November 9.

Balgard was in a vehicle that police had been looking for. In an officer's body camera footage you can see Balgard ram a cop cruiser before starting a pursuit that cornered him in a Rose Park neighborhood.

Officers asked Balgard to show his hands and to comply, he never did. Ultimately, it ended when an officer thought they saw a firearm on him, at which point five officers open fired.

The investigation was turned over to West Valley City Police and is still active — but Balgard's family has since said the shooting was unjustified.

“Cody was wrongly pursued and executed by Salt Lake City PD,” said Balgard's brother, Marvin Oliveros.

Oliveros and the group claimed they have been trying to get a meeting with Mayor Jackie Biskupski for the last six weeks to see what she plans to do to stop death at the hands of police.

“We will stay here until we get a meeting,” another protestor yelled.

The mayor’s office said, that isn’t the case. The mayor’s office said the group has made just one request for Biskupski to meet with them specifically to intervene in the investigation — something she cannot legally do.

The mayor’s office also said if the family wanted a meeting, she could give them one — but has no other information considering she is not involved in the investigation.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office said the case is currently under review.