Armed West Jordan man shot by police was allegedly experiencing mental health crisis

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WEST JORDAN — A man shot by West Jordan police early Sunday has been released from the hospital and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.

Fernando Fernandez, 46, was arrested for investigation of assault on an officer.

Officers were called to a residence near 5600 West and 7000 South at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday on a report of a man having "suicidal ideation" who was armed with an "edged weapon," according to West Jordan police. After confronting Fernandez, he "began to run back into the house" where officers knew children were inside, prompting one officer to fire his weapon, police stated.

According to a police booking affidavit filed with Fernandez's arrest, he allegedly wanted to "commit suicide by cop" and was armed with a "long sword."

"Several commands were given to (Fernandez) to drop the sword," according to the affidavit. "When officers approached the door to the residence, (Fernandez) met the officers at the door with the long sword in hand and presented himself in an aggressive manner. ... Multiple commands were given and an officer-involved shooting occurred."

Police state in the affidavit that Fernandez is "bipolar and (has) schizophrenia," and according to his girlfriend, "has not taken his mental health medications for approximately 30 days." The affidavit also notes that after being taken to the hospital, "the doctor had to heavily sedate (Fernandez) in order to calm (him) and give the proper care."

The Unified Police Department is conducting an independent investigation of the shooting.

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Pat Reavy

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.