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RIVERTON -- A police standoff at a Riverton apartment complex ended peacefully early Wednesday morning.
The Unified Police Department received a call around 1:30 a.m. from police in Georgia about a man living at the Legacy Springs apartments near 12600 South and 5200 West. The man's mother lives in Georgia and called police there after talking to her son. She said he was suicidal and indicated he had weapons in his possession.
Police responded, and when the 24-year-old man would not come out of his apartment, SWAT teams evacuated several of the surrounding units. The evacuated residents stayed in the clubhouse during the incident.
SWAT had phone communication with the man off and on for hours. He said he had guns with him. Police eventually talked him into surrendering just before 5 a.m.
Police had been concerned because the man lives with his brother. Once officers entered the apartment, they found the brother was OK and had slept through the incident. Police say they did not find any weapons.
They are pleased with the outcome.
Lt. Don Hutson of the Unified Police Department said, "Obviously that's what we want. When you get these circumstances where emotions are high and people are contemplating killing themselves, it's a very drastic situation. You don't know what they're capable of when making those statements."
The man will not be arrested or charged with a crime. Police are primarily concerned with his mental health.
They say they have dealt with the man in the past, but not necessarily for criminal offenses. They say last week he drove his truck into a tree and left it there. When officers tried to talk to him about it he was uncooperative.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
