The Salt Lake City Police Department and the district attorney's office are investigating the death of a Salt Lake man who went into a coma while being restrained by five officers.
Andrew Johnson, 26, died at a Salt Lake hospital Thursday shortly after the 3:30 p.m. incident.
Two city police officers went to a home near 900 West and 200 North after Johnson's father told dispatchers Johnson was "acting violent and bizarre," said Police Chief Rick Dinse.
When the officers arrived, they were confronted by Johnson, who weighs 300 pounds and was wielding kitchen knives in each hand. The officers initially persuaded Johnson to drop the knives, but he later picked them up and became combative, Dinse said.
The officers unsuccessfully used pepper spray to try to subdue Johnson.
With the help of three more officers, police restrained Johnson face down on the ground with his hands handcuffed in front of him. As officers removed the handcuffs and tried to handcuff Johnson behind his back, officers noticed he had slipped into a coma.
Officers immediately administered CPR until medical crews arrived.
The five officers remain on duty and the case is being screened by the district attorney's office. The police department is also conducting an internal investigation.
Johnson's death was the second death involving Salt Lake officers this year.
On April 1, a SWAT team officer shot and killed 28-year-old Lenny Cornia during a three-hour standoff inside his home, 1409 S. 1000 West. Cornia apparently suffered from manic depression and may have taken an overdose of his medication, according to police.
"From everything I can tell at this point, it appears they (the officers) followed procedure," Dinse said of Johnson's death. "It was the suspect's actions that resulted in the officers' conduct at the scene."
Dinse stressed that police did not hog-tie Johnson.
In October 1999, Glen Lutz was hog-tied by Weber County sheriff's deputies and lapsed into a coma following a roadside encounter. Lutz, 44, was removed from life support Nov. 12. His widow, Laurie Lutz, filed a $9.3 million wrongful death lawsuit in November in Ogden's 2nd District Court.
One of the officers allegedly pulled Lutz through the driver's side window and, with the help of two other officers, hog-tied Lutz. The restraint method left Lutz with his hands cuffed, his feet shackled and his hands and feet drawn together with a rope, according to the lawsuit.
A videotape of the incident, recorded by a neighbor who was awakened by the fight, shows one deputy with his foot on Lutz's back and another screaming obscenities and threatening the shackled man.
Following an internal investigation, the three officers involved in the altercation were allowed to return to work. One of the officers was disciplined for his language during the incident.
E-MAIL: djensen@desnews.com