On August 7, 2022, the Pleasant Grove Police department requested that Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office respond to a location in their jurisdiction to assist with a subject who had retreated into his home, locked the door and refused to come out. The subject had been identified as a possible suspect in an earlier burglary at a nearby home. Pleasant Grove police saw the suspect go into his home and close his garage door. At this point they contacted the Sheriff’s Office and requested assistance in removing the suspect from his home.
After assessing the circumstances surrounding the request, sheriff’s office patrol command determined that the appropriate response would be to attempt to negotiate with the suspect, as there were no current outstanding warrants on the suspect, nor had the suspect actually fled from police. It was also determined that there was no legal justification to force entry into the suspect’s home, based on the information we had at that time. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene with the resources that would be appropriate to deal with this type situation according to procedure. It is always the goal of the Sheriff’s Office to resolve any issue with the least force necessary to gain compliance. In this instance, we chose to have our Crisis Negotiators work to end the situation in a peaceful manner. Our SWAT team was also dispatched for support and cover of our Negotiators.
Once Pleasant Grove refused the services offered by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, excess personnel were released from the scene. Two SWAT commanders and two negotiators remained at the scene until the replacement agency requested by Pleasant Grove Police arrived on the scene. At no time did the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office ever refuse services to the Pleasant Grove Police Department. It was the Pleasant Grove Police Department’s decision to refuse which services the Sheriff’s Office provided. Ironically, the services that were performed by the agency who was requested by Pleasant Grove, were the exact services offered by the Sheriff’s Office. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office always stands ready to assist other agencies, however, we must follow the rule of the law.