Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Steven Allen Whites faces 19 criminal charges stemming from a SWAT standoff in West Valley City.
- Charges include assault on officers, aggravated assault and endangering a police K-9.
- Prosecutors request Whites be held without bail due to erratic behavior concerns.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley man who was shot by police after allegedly shooting at a SWAT team's armored vehicle is now facing 19 criminal charges.
Steven Allen Whites, 42, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with 12 counts of assault on an officer, a second-degree felony; four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of endangering a police K-9, third-degree felonies; and causing an accident, a class B misdemeanor.
The series of events began on Dec. 15 when a woman called West Valley police saying she was involved in a minor traffic collision with another vehicle near 3450 W. 3500 South. But police say when the woman approached the other driver to exchange information, he pointed a gun at her and her passenger.
The woman gave police the license plate number of the other vehicle, which came back to Whites' residence at 3667 S. Oxford Way. Two officers went to his home to talk to him.
When they got there, they found "a 9mm shell casing on the ground and a bullet hole in the upstairs window glass," according to charging documents. The officers heard yelling from inside the home which got louder when police announced their presence.
When Whites walked out of his home, the officers ordered him to show his hands. As he did, police "observed the butt of a black handgun in Whites' hoodie pocket. Whites then ran back into the residence and barricaded himself inside," the charges state.
A SWAT team responded to the residence with an armored vehicle and positioned it on the front lawn of Whites' house.
A couple of hours after the standoff began, and with Whites still refusing to come out, the SWAT team announced it had a warrant and would be entering the residence. As one officer "used the battering ram of the armored vehicle to push the front door open, Whites twice discharged his shotgun toward officers, hitting the armored vehicle which contained (seven officers and a police K-9)," according to the charges.
West Valley police said one officer fired at least one shot. Whites was taken to a local hospital where he is believed to still be receiving treatment as of Monday.
A neighbor told investigators that he was best friends with Whites until about three months ago when he "went crazy," the charges state. Prosecutors note that Whites' "quick escalation in violent and erratic behavior is especially concerning" and have requested that he be held without the possibility of posting bail pending trial.
