Burned Kaysville officer, rescued man remain hospitalized

KAYSVILLE – On the front door of the Kaysville Police Station, there’s a big blue sign thanking the Kaysville PD “Heroes.”

(Photo Credit: Kaysville Police)

“We’ve had some fantastic support from our community and communities along the Wasatch Front,” says Kaysville Police Chief Sol Oberg.

In all, six officers were injured after Tyler Ivison doused himself with gasoline and sparked a fire.  Only four needed to go to the hospital, and only one remains, now.  Oberg says that officer had the most severe injuries because he fell in the gasoline and had some on his uniform before the fire started.  That man could be in the hospital for another two weeks with a combination of second and third-degree burns on his legs, back and buttocks.

“He’s in good spirits.  He’s hurting. He’s in a lot of pain.  He’s a very optimistic young man,” Oberg says.

Kaysville police have been trained on how to handle cases where someone is showing extreme signs of mental illness.  Normally, they don’t try to confront the person, directly.  However, Oberg says this case was different.

“We had some innocent civilians in the immediate vicinity that we had to try to extract from that building,” he says.

Oberg says he’s going to visit the injured officer every day at the University of Utah Burn Center.  He told him about the sign residents place on the door.

“He’s in this game to help people.  So, it’s nice for him to hear that the community appreciates his sacrifice and what’s trying to do,” according to Oberg.

It’s too early in the investigation for officers to know if they’ll recommend charges against Ivison for the damage caused inside the store.

Anyone going through thoughts of suicide or feelings of depression should call the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-TALK.