OGDEN -- The wife of a man who died after being hogtied by deputies told officers her husband was depressed and he probably resisted their orders because he wanted officers to shoot him, a report said.
Glen Lutz, 44, died Friday after being removed from life support. The man had been in a coma at an Ogden hospital since Oct. 16, when he was stopped by a Weber County sheriff's deputy and hogtied after a struggle with officers.A Weber County sheriff's report said Laurie Lutz told officers she had asked her husband for a divorce, he was having a hard time with it and she had hidden his guns. The report said she told deputies he had a history of depression.
"He probably wanted you to shoot him," she told deputy Steve Haney when he asked her why her husband had fought with him.
It was Haney who first stopped Lutz at 2:23 a.m. at 3100 South and 4700 West.
Lutz, who was to be buried Monday afternoon, was in a car traveling west on 4000 South about 15 miles under the speed limit when he was first spotted by Haney. The car had drifted to the right three times, prompting the officer to make a stop. The officer found a full can of beer in the car, which was unopened, an empty can and prescription pills, the report said.
The routine stop soon turned ugly, however, after Lutz blew cigarette smoke in the officer's face and took on a "startled and nervous" behavior, the report said.
The report alleges Lutz grabbed at the deputy, tried to pull him into his vehicle and attempted to take off. During the eight-minute struggle, Lutz tried to bite Haney, the report said.
Haney requested assistance and deputies Chris Bitton and Brian Jacobs arrived. During that confrontation, which was caught on videotape by a resident awakened by the fight, Lutz also kicked at officers.
At this point the three deputies tied the man's hands behind his back and shackled his ankles, linking the two sets of restraints with a rope or chain to stop his thrashing. With hogtying the discomfort increases as the individual kicks or resists.
It became apparent the man was not breathing, the report said, and he was transported to an area hospital where he died 27 days later after being removed from life support.
All three officers have been placed on administrative leave, which is routine in the event of a death linked to an arrest, Weber County Sheriff Brad Slater said.
At this point, authorities said they don't know if Lutz's condition resulted from the actions of the deputies. An attorney hired by the Lutz family says the cause of death was due to lack of oxygen, but Slater on Monday said the results of the autopsy aren't in.
"It would be premature to say at this point," Slater said.
Slater said Monday his department is reviewing its internal policies and procedures in conjunction with the restraint used by officers. "We will look to see what the training was, what the application was and what the policy was and if there was a violation of policy."
The criminal investigation has been turned over to a multi-agency task force that routinely investigates use of force involving police officers. The results of their investigation will be forwarded to the county attorney's office for review to determine if criminal charges are merited.
Slater said his office is looking to see if the officers have been the subject of excessive-force complaints. The encounter did not involve any hitting or kicking on the part of officers, Slater said. "This was not a beating."
Lutz's attorney could not be reached Monday.