LEHI -- Debbie Walker is angry and says "the system" betrayed her and her family in the wake of her son's fatal shooting by police officers Tuesday night.
David J. Walker, 25, who had been dealing with personal setbacks, including a history of trouble with the law and a recent divorce, told his mother he was going to kill himself before he led police on an hourlong chase from Orem, through Pleasant Grove, American Fork and to the residence of his parents, Dave and Debbie Walker, southeast of Lehi.According to police, a confrontation occurred there and Orem Police Sgt. Harold Peterson and Pleasant Grove officer John Clayton fired several shots at Walker. Walker was pronounced dead at American Fork Hospital at 8:07 p.m.
Dave and Debbie Walker, who contacted police about their son because they feared he was going to commit suicide, say there was no confrontation and insist their son did not have a gun.
Debbie Walker says she witnessed the shooting from her home and that her son had only a razor blade in his hand.
"It was obvious he was going to kill himself," Walker told the Deseret News hours after her son's death. "It didn't have to escalate to this. There was no confrontation. I can't lie and say they were justified. What they did was wrong."
"It's a tragic night. It's tragic for the victim, for the victim's family and for the officers involved," said Utah County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Fernstedt. "There has to be a perceived threat to an officer or another person" for police to fire at a suspect, Fernstedt added.
"The fact both officers reacted the same way lends some credence to the idea there was a perceived threat."
Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Jerry Monsen said Wednesday that Walker had made threats against himself and his family. During a foot chase immediately after the car chase, Monson said Walker brought his hands together and officers believed he had a gun. He was then shot "several times."
Monsen said Walker did not have a razor blade but was carrying a knife with a 2-inch blade.
When asked whether officers warned Walker before shooting him, Pleasant Grove Police Lt. Tom Paul said his officer heard the Orem officer say something to Walker. Whether Walker heard anything is unknown.
Debbie Walker was at home, 7656 N. 7200 West in Lehi, with her daughter and grandchildren when she heard sirens and saw her son arrive, followed by police cars. "He got out of the car, stepped out into the headlights," she recalled.
"He was 20-25 feet away from the police. He had a razor knife to his wrist. The police shot him. After he felt to the ground, they shot him again. They fired six shots. I was shouting to them, 'He doesn't have a gun!' "
Monsen, however, said police were about 35 to 45 feet away from Walker when he was shot.
Following the shooting, Walker said, police told her and her daughter to return to the house. "We had our hands in the air and they physically threw me down to the ground. I told them I was the one who called this in. They kept us in the house for an hour and a half. They kept us locked in our house. We wanted to see our son."
David Walker was taken to the hospital while police questioned witnesses and began conducting an investigation. "They were tearing our house to bits looking for evidence," Debbie Walker said. "Evidence of what, we don't know."
The Walkers originally contacted police Sunday night to report that their 1984 yellow Subaru had been stolen from their home. They later discovered it was their son who had taken the vehicle. "The police came out (Monday night) and told us we were doing the right thing by reporting it," Dave Walker said.
Just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, David Walker called his parents and the Walkers' daughter called police and told them he was making the call from a gas station in Orem. "He told me he stole the car to sleep in it. He had nowhere else to go," Debbie Walker said. "He told me he was going to kill himself. . . . That's why we called the police."
When he saw police, David Walker fled the scene in the car, leading officers on a chase through the foothills of northeast Orem. Police followed him through Pleasant Grove and American Fork and, finally, to the Walker home. Officers from all three cities joined the pursuit.
Debbie Walker says an hour passed after her son was gunned down before police allowed her family to go to the hospital. "We were told we couldn't touch him," she said, sobbing. "We couldn't kiss his cheek or hold him. We couldn't say goodbye to our son."
The family was not allowed to return to their home Tuesday night. Police put the Walkers up in a hotel while they continued their investigation.
Debbie Walker says her son, who was twice divorced and left behind two children, was troubled and she was simply trying to help him.
"He felt like there was no hope," she said. "He just got off drugs, he wasn't able to see his children for Christmas, he didn't have a place to live. He told me tonight he stole the car to sleep in it. I just feel terrible. What did we do wrong other than to trust (the police). We trusted the system and the system is screwing us over."
David Walker pleaded guilty to theft in 1995 and 1997. He divorced his second wife, Tandi Sleight, earlier this year. Sleight filed a protective order against Walker in 1997.
Peterson is a 15-year veteran of the Orem Police Department and was placed on routine paid administrative leave while the investigation is being conducted, said Orem Police Chief Michael Larsen. Clayton has been a police officer for 2 1/2 years. He was being questioned Wednesday and Paul said a paid administrative leave is an option the department may consider.
Neither officer had ever fired a weapon while on the job in Utah, Larsen and Paul said.