FAIRFIELD, Utah, Oct. 11, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A man was shot and killed by Utah County Sheriff deputies Wednesday after he reportedly called first responders to the scene, saying he had shot himself in the leg.
Sgt. Garrett Dutson, UCSO, said deputies responded to the 11:17 a.m. dispatch call, and the man brandished a firearm at them. The deputies ordered the man to drop the gun, but he did not comply, Dutson said. The officers fired on the man, hitting the man.
“They administered CPR until Unified Fire arrived, and we also had an air ambulance that came,” Dutson said.
“Unfortunately the man died on scene.”
The incident happened southwest of Fairfield, in a rural area frequented by ATV enthusiasts and campers.
Dutson said arriving deputies believed they were responding to a medical call when circumstances changed quickly.
“They were coming out here on a medical detail, because the caller has said he had been shot in the leg, and any time someone’s been shot in the thigh or the upper leg area, the main arteries and they they are in a hurry to get out of here and help,” Dutson said. Then “the man brandished a weapon, and there was a threat, and the two officers returned fire.”
Sgt. Spencer Cannon, UCSO, said the two deputies who arrived first had been the closest, coming from Eagle Mountain, and arrived about 15 or 20 minutes after the call was dispatched. Those were the two involved in the shooting, Cannon said. They were not injured.
Dutson said at about 4:30 p.m. that investigators expected to remain on scene for at least a couple more hours, and their work had been stopped briefly by rain.
Cannon said the name age of the deceased man have not been released, but likely will be within the next day or two days.
