Park City teen charged with assaulting officers at Salt Lake protest

Hayden Coccaro, a 19-year-old from Park City, is now facing seven charges in Salt Lake County after police say he assaulted officers during a Jan. 31 protest near 150 South and State Street in downtown Salt Lake City.

Third District Court records show Coccaro was charged with five counts of assault on a police officer, one count of interfering with a police officer and one count of failing to disperse. The case ties a Park City teenager to a politically charged confrontation that unfolded during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the heart of Salt Lake City.

Police described the gathering as a “National Shutdown” protest. Officers said the crowd was chanting and blocking the roadway, and the Salt Lake City Police Department told protesters the demonstration was no longer lawful and “therefore a riot” before dispersal orders were given. Court documents say Coccaro was among the people officers identified as refusing to leave the area.

The allegations against him are serious. Court documents describe Coccaro as one of the “main agitators” and say he assaulted four people during the protest. He is accused of punching an officer, grabbing an officer’s helmet and throwing the officer to the ground. After he was handcuffed, court documents say he kicked one officer in the face twice and two others in the shins, causing bleeding.

The case has drawn attention well beyond the intersection where it happened because Coccaro lives in Park City, not Salt Lake City. It also underscores how a January protest in downtown Salt Lake City has rippled across the Wasatch Back and into neighboring communities. Another defendant, Ben Green of North Salt Lake, was charged separately in the same case and is accused of using a metal cane against an officer.

For Park City, the case now links one of its young residents to a court fight built around allegations of violence against police during a protest over federal immigration enforcement. As the case moves through Third District Court, the allegations against Coccaro and the separate charge against Green keep the incident at the center of a broader regional debate over protest, policing and public order.