Authorities release name of man killed by police in Utah-Arizona border standoff

In a file photo, St. George Police SWAT officers surround a vehicle at the northbound Interstate 15 Port of Entry, St. George, Utah, Aug. 3, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The person killed by St. George Police during a standoff at the Utah-Arizona Port of Entry along Interstate 15 earlier in the month has been identified as 83-year-old Raymond Derek Gladman.

St.George Police conduct an investigation around a passenger vehicle after shots were heard at the northbound Interstate 15 Port of Entry, St. George, Utah, Aug. 3, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The shooting occurred in the morning hours of Aug. 3 on the northbound side of the Port of Entry, where commercial traffic entering Utah is checked as well as size and weight requirements.

Gladman, who was not a local resident, was identified by the Washington County Attorney’s office as the person shot and killed by police a little over an hour into a standoff involving a passenger vehicle that was seen entering the Port of Entry area and driving erratically. He was a resident of Sedona, Arizona.

The Washington County Critical Incident Task Force, which handles officer-involved shootings, is continuing to investigate to determine if the shooting was justified.

The driver of the vehicle was reported as brandishing a weapon by Utah Highway Patrol officers, who called in St. George Police and its SWAT team for additional support.

2020 file photo for illustrative purposes only of an Arizona Department of Safety vehicle on northbound Interstate 15 near the Utah Port of Entry, March 11, 2020. | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke said while the reasons for the shooting remain under investigation, he said Gladman was seen with the weapon at the time the officer opened fire. 

“He had it in his hand at the time,” Clarke said of Gladman. “A trained law enforcement negotiator spoke with him for some time at the Port of Entry, and he did have a firearm in his hands at the time he was shot.”

The St. George Police officer involved in the shooting, who was placed on leave, is not being identified pending the investigation.  

“What (Gladman) was doing with the weapon is a key part of the investigation,” said Clarke, who expects the investigation to wrap up in the next two weeks.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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