Person killed after threatening South Jordan police officers with a knife

SOUTH JORDAN — A person was shot by police, and later died, after threatening them with a knife Saturday afternoon, according to police.

The South Jordan Police Department said they received a call of “a suspicious person alleged to be looking through car windows,” and located them at a park.

The suspect pulled out a knife when police approached, according to a release from SJPD.

Police report they attempted “multiple times” to disarm and detain them, but they “advanced on officers” with the knife and were shot.

They were taken into custody and transported to a hospital where they later died, police said.

SJPD reported the incident is under investigation, and the officers involved were placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.

The area of Skye Dr. and Skye Park will remain closed as the investigation continues, according to police.

A neighbor’s account of events

Ann McDougall was sitting in her backyard when she heard some yelling and assumed it was some sort of fight at a nearby baseball field. She walked out to her front yard and walked over where she could see downhill on Skye Drive towards the baseball field.

“There were police yelling, ‘drop the knife,’ I just was watching and then shots were fired,” she said to KSL TV. “I couldn’t see exactly, but I knew (what) was going on. And then I saw this guy walking across the street towards our houses and the police following him.”

She said the alleged suspect ended up right below her neighbor’s backyard and saw an ambulance take him. From the initial shots to when the suspect ended up injured and was taken by ambulance, McDougall believes it was about an hour.

“It was a long time…the initial shots happened, and I watched the perpetrator walk across the street. So he wasn’t down yet and they were still trying to diffuse the situation and it was a long time before he actually went away in an ambulance,” she said.