Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jan 2012
Source: Standard-Examiner (UT)
Copyright: 2012 Ogden Publishing Corporation
Contact:  http://www.standard.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/421
Authors: Michael McFall and Scott Schwebke, Standard-Examiner
Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.

OFFICER DIES OF GUNSHOT WOUND; FIVE MORE INJURED

OGDEN   A city police officer, among six gunned down Wednesday night 
while serving a search warrant at 3268 Jackson Ave., has died from 
his injuries.

The Ogden Police Department announced around 2 a.m. Thursday that 
agent Jared Francom, a husband and father to two young children, died 
after seven years of service to the city.

The six wounded officers were members of the Weber-Morgan Narcotics 
Strike Force and the Ogden Police Department. They were struck with 
bullets shot from what neighbors said sounded like a high-powered rifle.

The suspect, whose name has not been released at this time, was also 
shot, and remains at a local hospital under guard with 
non-life-threatening injuries.

The other five officers remained hospitalized early Thursday morning 
with serious to critical injuries.

There will be a news briefing at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Ogden Public 
Safety Building, 2186 Lincoln Ave.

Emergency responders rushed to the scene Wednesday night after a 
report of "shots fired" and "officer down."

Officers from Ogden, Riverdale, North Ogden and Utah Highway Patrol responded.

Four of the injured officers were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital, said 
McKay-Dee spokesman Chris Dallin. The hospital called in several 
off-duty doctors and nurses as part of its mass-casualty protocol, he said.

"They (the staff) are doing a great job."

The strike force had been serving warrants earlier Wednesday evening, 
and around 8 p.m., the call came in that at least one officer had been shot.

Police, in anticipation of more gunfire, blocked off the area from 
34th Street and Jackson Avenue to 32nd Street to prevent pedestrian 
and vehicle traffic from entering. A SWAT team was also on scene.

Police surrounded the suspect in a shed in a backyard on Jackson 
Street and secured the residence around 9:12 p.m.

Around 9:45 p.m., Ogden's Assistant Police Chief Marcy Korgenski, 
visibly upset, announced in a news conference that the scene was 
secured and there was no longer a threat to the community.

Clayton Payne, who lives nearby on the corner of Meadow Drive, said 
he heard "three pops" and then rapid gunfire, as though from an 
AK-47. He had walked outside to see what was going on when an officer 
with a rifle told him to get back inside, he said. Five minutes 
later, he walked out onto his driveway.

 From there, he said, he could see the backyard of a house on Jackson 
Avenue, where officers were telling someone to get down on the ground.

Mat Weinberger, who also lives in the neighborhood, said he was 
inside with his baby when he heard three gunshots around 8:45 p.m. He 
then heard 30 to 40 other shots. Weinberger's wife took their baby to 
the back of the house while he went outside to see what was going on. 
He saw paramedics running south on Jackson Avenue.

Both Payne and Weinberger describe the neighborhood as quiet, where 
nothing like this happens. Payne said the situation was scary, but 
also a little exciting.

The last Ogden Police Department officer shot and killed in the line 
of duty was Detective Sgt. Marshall White in 1963, according to odmp.org.

The Ogden City Police Department thanked all of the law enforcement, 
fire and EMS agencies in the area, as well as Weber Area Dispatch, 
McKay-Dee Hospital and Ogden Regional Medical Center.

"We would like to thank the community for their concern and 
outpouring of support for the officers and their families," police 
officials said in the Thursday morning statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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