Security video shows scuffle between developer and S.L. mayor

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's office has released security-camera video footage of the mayor's hallway confrontation with developer Dell Loy Hansen, and Anderson says it proves that Hansen was the aggressor.

"Over the past few days, Dell Loy Hansen has made false and misleading statements concerning his interaction with Mayor Rocky Anderson," a statement from the mayor's office reads. "The video recording of the incident, captured by a building security camera, gives a true picture of events. Mr. Hansen's aggressive and threatening conduct, and his loud, abusive harangue were witnessed by several people, including two newspaper reporters who were only a few feet away."

Download video   Security camera video       (13 MB .avi file)

The video, which does not have sound, shows Hansen leaving the council meeting, followed by his staff, reporters, city staff and, finally, Anderson. It then shows Hansen walking quickly toward Anderson, followed by about a minute of the two talking, their faces moving closer together as the altercation progresses.

Twice, Anderson attempts to continue down the hall toward his office, but Hansen moves closer to him. Near the end of the video, Hansen is seen grabbing Anderson's arm, and the mayor pulls his arm away.

"How they cut the video or edited it, that's going to be interesting," Hansen said Thursday before the video was released. The mayor's office said the video segment was unaltered.

Hansen and Anderson faced off in the halls of the City-County Building on Tuesday following a tense meeting of the Redevelopment Agency's board of directors. Anderson had asked the board to rescind a $6 million loan to Hansen's Wasatch Property Management and Hamilton Partners for an office tower at 222 S. Main.

Anderson told the City Council, which serves as the RDA board, that Wasatch had abused a 2003 loan that helped the developer bring KUTV's television studios from West Valley City to the Wells Fargo Center on Main Street.

Anderson said Wasatch took advantage of a part of the agreement that applied credit toward the loan's 3 percent interest rate for employees that the Wells Fargo tower brought into the city from elsewhere.

The mayor said Wasatch claimed the credits for some workers who had already worked downtown. Hansen denied the charge, saying it was up to employers like KUTV to oversee that the credits were claimed correctly.