West Valley police say they are investigating the actions of two bail bondsmen who, in pursuit of a fugitive, sawed an opening in the door of the man's house, leading to a standoff with a SWAT team and the man's death by suicide.
"We're very concerned with the bail enforcement agents' actions. We will be looking into those actions and their appropriateness for the situation," said West Valley police Capt. Tom McLachlan.
The incident began late Wednesday when two bail bondsmen went looking for a 29-year-old man near 3350 South and 3700 West. The man had two outstanding felony warrants on weapons violations.
The bail agents spotted the man on the front porch of his house, McLachlan said. He ran inside as the agents approached and locked the doors.
After the man refused to come out, the bondsmen called police. But because there was some question about whether the man they had seen run into the house was actually the man they were looking for, McLachlan said officers decided not to try to forcefully enter.
"We instructed the bail enforcement agents to get him at a safer time and a safer place," McLachlan said. "We left the scene, but they didn't."
Instead, the bail bondsmen borrowed a saw from a neighbor and cut a hole in the man's front door, he said. They looked inside and saw a man holding a rifle and then called police again.
Because the circumstances were different this time, a SWAT team responded to the house about 12:30 a.m. Thursday. A five-hour standoff ensued, and after failing to contact the man, tear gas was thrown into the house.
The man still did not respond and the SWAT team moved in.
"As they made entry, they heard a single gunshot in the basement. When they got there he was dead from a self-inflicted wound," McLachlan said.
Although the man turned out to be the fugitive the pair had sought, police have a lot of questions for the bail bondsmen and what they are and are not allowed to do. Whether or not bail bondsmen have the authority to cut a saw in people's doors was something police were looking into Thursday, said McLachlan.
"Obviously there's no bail enforcement agency academy. We're not sure what training they are required to have," he said.
The issue of just how much authority bail bondsmen have was brought up earlier this month before the Utah Supreme Court. That case involved a Colorado bondsman who failed to identify who he was when he tried to apprehend a fugitive in Utah, seriously beating two adult brothers in the process. Specifically, Utah's high court is deciding whether or not out-of-state bondsmen have the authority to make arrests in Utah without a state license.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com