Orem officer shot in scuffle

OREM — An Orem police officer is recovering at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center after a man grabbed the officer's gun during a scuffle and shot him Sunday.

Orem Police Lt. Phil Murphy, a 20-year veteran of the police force, was taken to the hospital to be treated surgically. He was expected to survive, Orem Police Lt. Doug Edwards said.

Murphy's police-issued gun was the second police weapon fired during the fight with the man. The man grabbed another officer's weapon and fired that gun before he was able to wrest Murphy's gun away from him and fire it, Edwards said.

David L. Burns, 23, was arrested after the shooting and was being detained Sunday at the police department's holding facility, Edwards said.

Neighbors called for police help at about 7:20 p.m. Officers were asked to go to a two-story apartment building at 376 E. 1400 South — just southwest of the University Parkway-State Street intersection — to investigate a possible domestic-violence case, Edwards said.

Neighbors said there was a fight between a boyfriend and girlfriend and it got physical, Edwards said.

"I guess he'd thrown up some of her property up on here," Edwards said, pointing to a rooftop of a strip mall across the street from the apartment building, with storefronts that face University Parkway.

Murphy was first to arrive at the scene and noticed a man fighting with neighbors.

Murphy "went up to the suspect and tried to get him to calm down," Edwards said.

But the encounter between the lieutenant and the man became physical. That's when a second officer arrived, Edwards said.

The second officer tried to help Murphy control and detain the man.

The man grabbed the second officer's gun and fired it while it was in the holster. The man then went after Murphy's gun and fired the bullet, Edwards said.

"It went in his left shoulder, ricocheted off his shoulder blade" and lodged near the spine under his skin, Edwards said.

A third officer had arrived on scene and saw the two officers struggling with the man in the doorway of the apartment building, Edwards said

"The shot was fired by the time the third officer got over there," Edwards said.

But the third officer got control of the man by using a Taser weapon, Edward said.

"Statistically, domestic violence reports are dangerous for officers," Edwards said. "We're grateful our officer is OK."

Burns will remain at the Orem department's holding facility until police interview him.

"The girlfriend doesn't live here. I don't know what the history is" between the couple and their relationship, Edwards said.

Neighbor Duane Crocket, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 10 years, heard one shot. "I heard a pop. You don't hear a pop all of the time," he said.

Crocket could not determine from where or what the sound came.

"I didn't (realize what occurred) until about four or five minutes — until I (heard) the sirens," he said.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com