‘I am trying to kill my wife,’ armed man allegedly tells 911 dispatcher

By Pat Reavy

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    WEST JORDAN, Utah (KSL) — A 76-year-old West Jordan man was arrested Monday after police say he attacked his wife with a sledgehammer and then pointed a gun at officers.

West Jordan police say responding officers showed incredible restraint and discipline and relied on their training to prevent the situation from escalating into a police shooting.

Dennis Alma Day was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, aggravated assault and illegal discharge of a firearm.

About 8:50 a.m. Monday, Day called 911 and said, “I am trying to kill my wife, and it’s personal,” according to a police booking affidavit.

While emergency dispatchers were on the line with Day, his wife also called 911 “to report that her husband had hit her in the head with a sledgehammer and was trying to kill her. The victim informed dispatch that she had escaped and was in the street, bleeding from her head,” the affidavit states.

The wife also told police that she believed her husband was armed with a gun. When the first two officers arrived, they spotted Day in the garage holding a gun.

“The officers challenged him and ordered him to drop the gun. The suspect raised the gun, pointing it at the responding officers,” according to the affidavit.

But the officers did not shoot. West Jordan police detective Dirk Petersen said the officers had enough distance between them and Day and took cover behind their vehicles.

Petersen called it an “intense moment” in which “pretty quick decisions” were made. Ultimately, the officers were concerned about their backstop, not knowing if anyone else was inside the house, and didn’t feel the right thing to do at that moment was open fire, Petersen said.

Day hid behind a parked vehicle in the garage. But after the officers gave multiple commands to surrender, Day threw his gun into the street and was taken into custody a short time later, the affidavit states.

When police talked to the wife, she said Day had “struck her in the back of the head with the sledgehammer multiple times. The victim managed to grab the sledgehammer from the suspect and threw it down the stairs while escaping from the house. She also mentioned that she heard a gunshot in the garage as she was exiting the home,” according to the affidavit.

The woman was treated for her injuries at a local hospital.

Police have requested that Day be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail, noting mental health concerns and the fact no family members are willing to house him because of fear for their own safety, the affidavit says.

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