WEST JORDAN, Utah, Jan. 1, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — The West Jordan Police Department has released body camera video of officers confronting, tasing and rescuing a man they say set his West Jordan residence on fire on Dec. 31.
The short video, 2:18 minutes of raw footage, shows two officers approaching the shirtless man as he stood near burning draperies, the view blocked in the footage by a shelf unit.
The officer wearing the camera shot a taser at the man, who fell backward to the floor, releasing a machete he had been holding.
Officers approached the prone man, revealing a view of the burning draperies, and dragged the incapacitated man from the house.
The incident originally was reported at about 5:50 p.m. New Year’s Eve as a domestic disturbance at 3235 W. 6725 South.
“They (officers) had to make entry into the house, which is where they confront the suspect lighting the fire,” said Ian Adams, an officer with the West Jordan Police Department. The WJPD removed the suspect from the residence, and he was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries that were not considered life threatening.
Reed Scharman, deputy chief at the West Jordan Fire Department, said two people at the scene described the suspect as “out of control.”
“West Valley Fire arrived and started putting out the fire,” Scharman said.
The other two residents of the home, one of them the suspect’s father, were not not injured, Scharman said. The three officers who entered the house were checked for smoke inhalation and did not have problems, he said.
Scharman said on Dec. 31 that the damage to the structure was pretty extensive with most of it near the front of the house. Scharman declined to comment on earlier reports that the victim had mental problems.
