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Darrien Hunt, 22, died after two Saratoga Springs officers shot him six times, five of the wounds from behind, on the morning of September 10, 2014, near a strip mall at Crossroads Boulevard and Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs, Utah.

According to KSL and Deseret News reports, a passing motorist had called 911 to report a man in a red shirt walking down the street carrying a samurai sword. The caller's recording was later released. The caller reported no crime and did not say anyone was being threatened, and Hunt's family later argued the dispatcher never pressed for those details.

Cpl. Matthew Schauerhamer and Officer Nicholas Judson found Hunt nearby. Prosecutors said the contact began calmly, with the sword sheathed, before Hunt swung the blade at the officers and ran. The two fired seven rounds between them. Hunt ran roughly 200 yards toward a Panda Express, where he collapsed and died. One officer was wearing a body camera but had not switched it on.

The state medical examiner reported that Hunt was hit six times, with five wounds entering from behind and one striking the side of his hip. Toxicology tests found no drugs.

What Hunt was carrying became the central dispute. His mother said the roughly three-foot katana was a souvenir bought at a gift shop, and relatives believed he had been dressed as an anime character. Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman described it as a real katana with a blade close to 28 inches, "clearly a dangerous weapon" that had not been intentionally dulled.

On November 3, 2014, Buhman ruled the shooting legally justified and filed no charges, saying there was no evidence that race played a role. Hunt was Black and both officers are white. The local NAACP branch asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate, and federal authorities brought no charges.

Hunt's parents filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in early 2015. The case settled for $900,000, and a judge dismissed it in April 2016 after ruling the family had agreed to that amount. Hunt's mother, Susan Hunt, publicly rejected the deal, calling it "hush money."