Saturday, December 18, 2010

West Valley City, UT: West Valley police shoot, kill knife-wielding man

BY BOB MIMS
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Police say they shot and killed a knife-wielding man while responding to a reported assault at a home in West Valley City.

West Valley City police Sgt. Mike Powell said that officers were dispatched to a home in the 3600 block of West Bawden Avenue about 7:50 p.m. Friday to investigate the domestic violence call. Several officers entered the home and encountered 21-year-old Brandon Eric Chief, who was armed with a knife, Powell said.

“At least one officer fired his duty weapon at the suspect, striking him multiple times in the chest,” Powell said. “[He] was transported by ambulance to a local area hospital where he was later pronounced dead.”

No officers were injured.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Powell declined to offer more details about the sequence of events leading up to the shooting, or to say exactly how many officers shot and how many shots were fired. However, he did confirm that at some point the officers felt threatened by Chief’s actions.

“A knife is definitely considered a threat,” Powell said. “Otherwise, all I can say is that our detectives were out all night and are still looking through this and investigating everything involved.”

Powell said the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office will determine if the shooting was justified. The officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave pending the probe’s outcome.

Chief was no stranger to law enforcement. He was on probation after pleading guilty to a Class A misdemeanor count of attempted purchase, transportation, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person and Class C misdemeanor intoxication.

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