Ogden police officer was ‘felled by the forces of evil,’ chief says

OGDEN — Nathan Lyday loved being a police officer. And he had a lot of honor serving the people of Ogden, where he was born and raised.

“He was very prideful to be a police officer. This is a great city. He loved the citizens of the city. And like I said, he loved coming to work. I would bump into him in the hallway daily on his shift, and he smiled before I smiled. And that’s what I remember,” said Ogden Police Lt. Brian Eynon.

“He’s a hero.”

On Friday, a community paid tribute to Lyday, 24, who had been with the Ogden Police Department for just 15 months. Lyday was shot and killed Thursday in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call.

Ogden Police Chief Randy Watt was emotional as he spoke about a “son of Ogden” who was born at McKay-Dee Hospital, went to elementary and middle school in Ogden, graduated from Ogden High School in 2013, and worked at the Fresh Market on 20th Street and Harrison Boulevard before graduating summa cum laude from Weber State University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Lyday’s wife, Ashley, stood with family members behind Watt as he addressed the media Friday in front of the Francom Public Safety Center, named for the last Ogden officer killed in the line of duty, Jared Francom. She did not speak but listened as she wiped away tears.

When the press conference was over, Ashley Lyday leaned over the back of her husband’s patrol car and buried her face in agony.

“Nate and his wife were about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary and her graduation from Weber State University,” Watt said.

Lyday’s patrol car was parked in front of the building as a memorial. An American flag with a blue line was placed on the windshield. Citizens dropped off bouquets of flowers on and around the vehicle.

On the sidewalks surround the building, words such as “honor,” “protect and serve,” and “hope” were written in chalk. In front of Lyday’s patrol car, someone wrote the word “love” in chalk on the sidewalk.

Lincoln Avenue in front of the police station will be closed to traffic for a while so citizens can come pay tribute to Lyday, Watt said.

A giant U.S. flag was draped over the west side of the Ogden Police Department while smaller flags flanked the property’s perimeter. Watt said all of the decorations and tributes were made by citizens and other groups outside of the police department.

“You really see a community come together at times like this and you find that even when we’re in the situation we’re in in the world right now, the important things are brought to the surface,” Eynon said.

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Lyday was a second-generation police officer. His father worked for the Davis County Sheriff's Office and his brother currently works as a code enforcement officer in Ogden.

Lyday was shot while responding to a domestic violence call at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. A woman called 911 from a neighbor’s house claiming her husband was going to kill her before the phone disconnected.

When Lyday and an agent from Adult Probation and Parole arrived in the area, they spotted John Benedict Coleman, 53, on his front porch at 365 Jackson Ave. Coleman was uncooperative with officers, and eventually went back into his house and slammed the door behind him, according to Watt.

Eynon said Friday that the officers did not see a gun in Coleman’s hands at that time and began running toward the door.

“As officers moved quickly to the door in an attempt to follow the suspect, he began firing through the door,” the chief said.

The agent was hit and treated at a hospital Thursday for injuries that were not life-threatening. His name has not been released.

Other officers responding to the scene fired several rounds as cover at the door as Lyday was dragged from the porch and transported to McKay-Dee Hospital. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

An undisclosed number of children who were in the home at the time of the shooting were not injured. Coleman’s wife was not in the home at the time of the shooting, Eynon said.

After members of the Ogden-Metro SWAT team were called and entered the house, they found Coleman dead inside.

Eynon said Lyday was an officer who “worked over and above the call of duty” because he worked his beat with honor and loved serving the people of Ogden.

“He just loved being a cop,” he said.

Watt called Lyday a guardian, public servant and a warrior who was “felled by the forces of evil.”

“Officer Lyday sacrificed his life on behalf of a threatened and fearful family on the scene,” he said. “We are grateful for officer Lyday, for his service, his friendship and his example. We will mourn for a shot period, but more importantly we will celebrate that he lived and we will thank the god we worship that he was one of us.”

Eynon said Coleman did have a criminal history and police had been called to his Jackson Avenue residence before on reports of domestic violence.

According to state court records, Coleman’s criminal history in Utah is minor. But he had weapons-related offenses in Louisiana, according to public records and criminal history in Maryland.

Coleman was not on file with the Utah Department of Corrections, according to a spokeswoman. The Adult Probation and Parole officer who was shot happened to be in the area Thursday afternoon when he heard a call out for help, which is why he responded to the scene, according to the department.

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Lyday’s body was escorted back to Ogden from the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office in Taylorsville Friday afternoon. The procession left the Calvin Rampton Complex, 4700 S. 2700 West, and traveled back to the Francom Public Safety Center on Ogden’s 21st Street. The rescue carrying Lyday back to Ogden was surrounded by four motorcycle officers, and the procession was led by more than a dozen motorcycle officers.

The procession drove under a flag hanging from a fire department ladder truck as it left the freeway and entered Ogden. Residents and officers lined the street in front of the public safety center. Some residents saluted, while others held their hands over their hearts, many in tears. Officers stood in the center of the road saluting Lyday as the red rescue vehicle carrying him stopped briefly in front of the giant flag draped across the building’s facade.

The procession then passed a long line of cars from dozens of police agencies, parked single file down the sides and center of the street as Lyday traveled to a funeral home, where officers stood watch over the young officer’s remains.

Free and confidential help and support for victims and survivors of domestic violence is available 24/7 at 1-800-897-LINK (5465) or at udvc.org.

Contributing: Amy Donaldson