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Layton officer shoots man after three-hour standoff

Police shot a Layton man Saturday morning, ending a three-hour negotiation during which the drunken man fired shots inside his home and in the front yard.

The 44-year-old man — whose name has not yet been released — told police he was suicidal and wanted them to shoot him.

Layton police were first called at 11:30 p.m. Friday, Lt. Travis Lyman said. A young woman reported that her relative was intoxicated and suicidal. She was on her way to his home but wanted police to come as well, Lyman said.

Police were first to get to the home near 1950 N. Avalon St. They set up a perimeter and called the man, who told police he had been drinking.

He was upset about a domestic situation, Lyman said, and told police he wanted them to kill him.

Police called for more officers, bringing in about 25 from nearby jurisdictions, to set up a more secure perimeter. They also reverse dialed 911 to contact neighbors, telling them to remain in their homes. No one else was in the home with the man, Lyman said.

Crisis negotiators continued to talk to the man on the phone periodically for about three hours.

“The situation was pretty serious because as he was talking on the phone he was firing off rounds,” Lyman said.

Lyman said the man was shooting in his home, but he also went outside several times and shot into the front yard. Sometimes the man had a handgun, and sometimes he had a rifle.

At 2:26 a.m., the man was out in the yard “when his actions prompted a Layton officer to shoot him,” Lyman said. The man was hit in the torso.

He was taken by ambulance to Davis Hospital, then flown to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, where he remains.

Lyman said it appears the man will survive. It appears, he said, that the man was shot only once, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

The officer who fired has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, which is standard protocol.

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