Saturday, October 10, 2009

St. George, UT: St. George man shot by police identified

By Lindsay Whitehurst
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 10/10/2009 03:17:22 PM MDT

A man shot and killed by St. George police Friday has been identified as 48-year-old Craig J. Steiner.
Steiner confronted two officers with a rifle when they arrived at his home on a domestic violence call about 8 p.m., according to St. George Police officer James Schafer.
The officers had arrived at the house near 110 North and 2790 East and were talking with Steiner's wife outside the home when Steiner exited the home and started walking toward police with a rifle, said Sgt. Craig Harding. He did not fire the gun, but ignored repeated requests to drop the weapon.
"When he lifted it up and pointed it at one of the officers, that's when the officer fired," Harding said. One of the officers fired a single shot, hitting him in the torso.
Steiner was taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center, where was pronounced dead. Both officers were put on paid administrative leave, as per department policy, pending an investigation by the Washington County Critical Incident Team.
Schafer did not know whether officers had responded to previous domestic violence calls there. Investigators are trying to determine what happened prior to the officers' arrival; police have declined to release the names of the two officers involved. The State Office of the Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy on Steiner.

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