Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A man was hospitalized in serious condition Tuesday evening after being shot by an officer, police said.
Officers were in the area of 3300 West and 4000 South when they "encountered a man with a gun," West Valley police said on Twitter.
West Valley Police Chief Lee Russo said police came across the man outside near a home. Russo didn't provide an exact address of where the shooting occurred.
Before the encounter, residents directed officers to the area of man with a firearm, police said. Officers were originally called to the area around 6:30 p.m. after it was reported there was a man with a gun and shots had been fired in the street.
"He was armed and had been discharging (his handgun) prior to their arrival," Russo said.
The man, whose name and age were not immediately released, lives in the area, police said. It wasn't known Tuesday night where or how many times he was hit.
No officers were injured in the incident.
One officer — a man who works with the department's K-9s — fired his weapon at close proximity to the man, Russo said. Three other officers witnessed shots fired, he said.
The police chief didn't specify how many times the officer fired his weapon, but he said multiple shots were fired. Witnesses in the neighborhood said they heard three shots. Russo didn't know whether the man who was shot had fired his weapon at the officers or whether they had issued him commands prior to the shooting.
Russo said the officer, whose name was not released Tuesday night, was training K-9s nearby with another officer when "they heard the call and immediately just responded because of their proximity to help."
Police said shell casings at the scene indicate shots were fired before they arrived, corroborating the original report witnesses gave to officers.
"We don't have any indication that the (man) was shooting at other people (before police arrived)," Russo said.
Nobody was injured in that alleged shooting, which is still being investigated.
The officers involved were isolated from the scene and their weapons were checked, which is typical police protocol, Russo said. The officer who fired his weapon and the other K-9 officer weren't wearing body cameras, but the other two were, he said.
The Salt Lake City Police Department was called to the scene to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting.
Contributing: Ashley Moser
