Just terrible, all just to serve a warrant
The policemen were part of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force, police say
Police now say the alleged gunman is Matthew David Stewart. He remains in stable condition and under guard at a local hospital. Tarwater said Stewart has a limited criminal history.
Witness Accounts
Police said Thursday morning that officers were serving a "knock and announce" search warrant at the residence, based on probable cause of drug activity. Officers knocked, got no response, forced their way into the home and at some point were fired upon. They declined to give further details.
Another neighbor, Janessa Vanderstappen, said, "We came running outside to see what was going on. Officers told us to go back in our house."
Vanderstappen said she went back inside, and minutes later heard yelling coming from the backyard. She said she walked onto the back porch to see officers addressing a person hiding in a nearby shed.
"There's cops telling him to 'put your hands up, put your hands up,'" she said.
Both the suspect and the six officers were shot and taken to local hospitals.
Officers were prepared
A woman who claims she is a family member of the fallen officer told KSL's Doug Wright Thursday morning that task force members were highly-trained for such situations. She said the family was told Wednesday night that the suspect may be former military and was armed with an automatic weapon and a handgun.
She also said the family was told Officer Francom was in the front position in the backyard during the standoff Wednesday night.
The Ogden Police Department did not confirm the details the woman offered.
ABC News Crime and Terrorism Consultant Brad Garrett told KSL Newsradio it's always a risk when officers move in to serve a warrant. "Even the best-laid plans can go awry. I don't know what their plans were, but this clearly went so sideways," he said.
Darin Parke, commander of the Weber-Morgan task force, said it's common to send up to 12 officers to serve a search warrant. It's also standard procedure for task force members to wear protective vests in such situations.
Tarwater said as far as he knows, the officers who were shot were wearing vests.
Hospital responds to emergency
When McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden learned that four of the injured officers were being rushed there Wednesday night, doctors and nurses were immediately called in from home to help.
Hospital spokesman Chris Dallin said, "Whenever there is a big lump of patients, we have a protocol as an emergency department to respond to that."
After the injured officers arrived, more Ogden police officers began showing up at the hospital. In fact, law enforcement from several jurisdictions came to the emergency room to show their support for the wounded officers. They, too, had to wait, as hospital officials are not giving any specific information about the injuries or conditions.
It's scary. This is a quiet neighborhood.
–Clayton Payne, witness
"I can confirm we have four patients, victims from a shooting in downtown Ogden," Dallin said. "All four of the victims are police officers."
McKay-Dee is a level two trauma center, meaning a wide range of specialist is available around the clock. Still, four patients being treated for gunshot wounds at the same time is a challenge for any hospital.
"We have a great team of folks," Dallin said. "We understand they are doing a great job with the patients."
Two other officers were taken to Ogden Regional Medical Center. One of them was in stable condition and doing well Wednesday night. The other was in critical condition.
ksl.com
Officer Jared Francom
RIP Jared
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