Police use Taser on man

A man who said God told him to go to an Olympus Cove neighborhood was stunned with a Taser several times Wednesday after fighting with sheriff's deputies, threatening to kill a deputy and then scuffling again at the Salt Lake County Jail.

The incident began about 7:20 a.m., when a woman living near 4500 South and 4200 East spotted on her home surveillance monitor two people fighting in the street, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Jaroscak.

Investigators later said it was a Salt Lake husband and wife who were fighting. The man had persuaded his wife to go for a drive with him and their infant and dog, Jaroscak said. The woman apparently told the man after they were parked in the neighborhood that it was time to go, but he told her, "We're not going to leave," Jaroscak said.

Their verbal confrontation became physical, and the two started choking each other, according to what the homeowner saw, Jaroscak said. The wife was able to break free and drive off with her child and dog<, leaving her husband behind.

When a sheriff's deputy arrived five minutes later she thought all parties had gone. But a moment later she saw the man standing on the homeowner's property.

When the deputy confronted the man, he threatened her, Jaroscak said.

"He tells her he's going to kill her," Jaroscak said.

The deputy called for help and tried to calm the man by talking to him until backup arrived. The deputy used distance and cover and kept the man "verbally off balance," he said.

"She kept a safe distance between herself and the suspect as well as objects between them such as her patrol car," Jaroscak said.

When backup arrived five minutes later, the man continued to be "out of control," threatening to "kill people," Jaroscak said.

Deputies were forced to use their Tasers multiple times before the man calmed down enough to be handcuffed. There was no problem transporting him to the Salt Lake County Jail, but once he got there he was once again "combative during the booking process," Jaroscak said.

Peter R. Nelson, 43, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of making terroristic threats, assault, domestic assault in front of a child, trespassing and resisting arrest.

Family members told deputies Nelson has some mental health issues, Jaroscak said.

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