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John Hollenhorst ReportingTrooper Jeff Nigbur, Utah Highway Patrol: "A very scary situation. And those deputies are very, very lucky to be alive."
The bullet holes in the police vehicles give you an idea of how much lead was flying last night in Duchesne County. It was a wild shootout in the mountains of Eastern Utah. When it was over, a man was dead and five officers had the scare of their lives.
They were chasing a man who spun out on a snowy highway and launched a furious gun battle. Someday we may be allowed to see dashcam video from two sheriff's vehicles that were in the middle of a storm of bullets. The video will likely be vivid proof of the extreme danger in police work.
It ended in the snow at 9000 feet.
Sheriff Merv Gustin, Duchesne County: "We're pretty fortunate that we got to come home and the bad guy didn't."
It began at a gas station in Duchesne. The suspect stopped in a vehicle for gas. An officer checked his out-of-state plate and it turned out to be stolen. The officer pulled him over a few blocks away.
Sheriff Merv Gustin: "We regret the action the suspect chose to take."
He sped away, out of town, up Indian Canyon. Several law enforcement vehicles pursued as he headed up the Tavaputs Plateau into the snow. Near the summit, he spun out and a vicious gun battle erupted.
Sheriff Merv Gustin: "It was a serious gunfight."
The sheriff says the suspect instantly jumped from his vehicle and attacked the officers, racing toward their vehicles with his gun blazing. Two sheriffs' vehicles peppered with dozens of bullets show how intense it was. Officers fired back, through the windshield from inside. The officer in a second vehicle had his driver window shot out.
Trooper Jeff Nigbur, Utah Highway Patrol: "The deputy got out of his vehicle and returned fire, and tactically retreated behind some other patrol cars with some other officers arriving."
The suspect jumped into the deputy's vehicle and started to drive away.
Trooper Jeff Nigbur: "The suspect did kind of a half u-turn and crashed into the side of the mountain next to the road."
He fired more shots and five officers fired back until he was dead. In all, six officers were placed on administrative leave.
Sheriff Merv Gustin: "It's tough. The main reason they're on administrative leave, we want to make sure they're whole before they come back to work, emotionally."
The suspect has not been named publicly because authorities are still trying to notify out-of-state relatives. As for motive: The Highway Patrol says the suspect has a very violent past; he was wanted for a parole violation and he was driving a stolen vehicle.
