Spanish Fork man arrested after allegedly firing at police armored vehicle

SPANISH FORK — A man was arrested over the weekend after police say he fired at their armored vehicle after officers had responded to a domestic violence call.

Allan Searl, 58, of Spanish Fork, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of attempted aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, assault on an officer, discharge of a firearm, two counts of causing property damage and carrying a gun while under the influence.

About noon on Saturday, Spanish Fork police were called to 831 S. 1520 East on a report of a domestic violence incident. A woman told emergency dispatchers that her husband, Searl, “had been drinking and was trying to hurt her,” according to a police booking affidavit. The wife said she and Searl started arguing Friday night and she had left the home to stay with her father. The wife and father returned to Searl’s house the next day so she could collect some items that belonged to her.

But when she walked in the door, Searl “retrieved a knife and the verbal altercation continued. At one point, the suspect pushed (his wife) to the ground and put his arm around her neck, strangling her. (She) stated that she told the suspect she could not breathe, and the suspect replied, ‘I don’t care,'” the affidavit alleges.

At one point, the father told police he could see his daughter trying to crawl out the front door, but Searl “was dragging her back into the residence,” the affidavit states. The father then ran toward the home and tackled Searl to get him off the woman.

Searl and the father then got into a physical fight as the woman ran to a neighbor’s home to get help. After the father got out of Searl’s house, both he and his daughter saw Searl “breaking out the window screens and throwing items out the window,” police said.

When officers arrived, Searl “pointed a gun outside of the window” at the officers who in turn called for backup. But as police on scene waited for backup to arrive, “they could hear indiscriminate shooting coming from inside the residence. Further investigation, revealed a bullet hole found in neighboring home,” according to the affidavit.

At that point, the Utah County Metro SWAT team was called. The SWAT team arrived at the scene with an armored vehicle. Officers continued to try to talk Searl into surrendering. But as the armored vehicle approached the home, Searl “pointed what was identified as the barrel of a firearm out the window and began to actively fire gunshots toward the marked SWAT team’s armored vehicle that contained multiple officers,” the arrest report states. “A bullet round struck the vehicle radiator.”

Spanish Fork police say “several officers returned fire.” The affidavit described it as “a short burst of gunfire from officers.”

After police returned fire, Searl eventually surrendered without firing any more rounds. He sustained undisclosed “minor” injuries and was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated before being booked into jail.

The father-in-law “had sustained substantial injury to the vertebrae in his neck,” police said.

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Domestic violence resources

If you or someone you know is going through abuse, help is available.

• The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465).
• Resources are also available online at the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition website.
• YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
• Utah’s statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233