A violent career criminal is taken out by police and no one else gets hurt.

I fail to see a downside to this.

I work in law enforcement, and I'm just waiting for all of you to start with the comments that the guy didn't have to die, that it was just the cops who wanted to show their authority and control, that the use of deadly force wasn't necessary -- so let it begin.

Just another situation of our "men in blue" who don't get paid enough for what they do, putting their lives on the line for all you citizens out there so you can have the freedom to complain about the "bad cops".

The police acted appropriately. I am grateful for their service. God bless them all.

Well done West Valley Police officers. Criminals need to know that when they threaten the safety of others or level a weapon on a peace officer they will be removed and their remianing carbon will be recycled back to mother earth. A fitting end to a career of selfishness, mahem and extreme risk to society.

I meant to say GOOD SHOOTING GUYS!!

Another one bites the dust! No critism for the cops from me!

I agree with everything you say except your first paragraph. Police don't get paid enough. You do have dangerous jobs. And I think that most of us totally agree that these officers acted appropriately. Is someone going to complain? Undoubtedly, but I think it is only a vocal minority. Very very minor minority. As for the rest of us. Thank you for your hard work in serving the community. We do appreciate all that you do.

Thanks officers! You are all heros!

Seems from every account that the officers handled this entirely appropriately. Thank heavens for their quick and decisive response. The woman (wife of store owner) is to commended for finding the opportunity and having the good sense and bravery to flee when she could, enabling the officers to ensure that there was no collateral damage. Good work.

YAY WV POLICE!! Thank you for protecting others from this awful criminal!! I'm sure the hostage and ones like her are Very grateful!

i think this man definitely deserved his fate. the police did their best under the circumstances. i'm glad there were no other fatalities.

To all police officers and especially those involved in this incident, thanks for your service and bravery.

He fired one shot in the DIRECTION of...I think this is a case of SUICIDE BY COP.

Now it begins, for what it's worth I think the shooting was justified but you've got too much of a chip on your shoulder to be working in law enforcement.

Re: .45 Cal. You may be right, but I don’t think that changes whether the officers responded appropriately. Even if this guy WANTED to be shot by the police, that doesn’t change the immediate danger that he posed to others or the seriousness of his crime (and his long criminal record).

Good job police, Thanks for saving me some MORE tax dollars on this guy by being locked up.

To Now it begins:

Cops don't get paid enough? From an economic standpoint, would an increase in pay somehow make getting killed in the line of duty a good investment?

I'm grateful for cops who do their job, at the salary being offered.

I'm equally grateful for everyone but actors and athletes. Almost nobody gets paid enough. Not teachers. Not nurses. Not firemen. Not dog catchers. Not the 17 year old being abused by customers at Taco Bell.

Oh, and not mothers and fathers -- the most underpaid people in the world.

I love to see stories with a happy ending!

to:now it begins....Me thinks you need a little time for anger management. Most people agree with how this went down and also most people are greatful for the service that is provided. I have always said that officers are not paid enough for what they do, but maybe in your case you need to have some taken away. Thanks to all you officers who stay cool.

I served in the same mission as Thanh Minh Tran. He was always soft spoken and a hard worker. He had a strong testimony of the Gospel when I knew him. This is very tragic. My prayers are with him and his family.

It is so nice to read a little GOOD news for a change!!

Nice job WV policeman!!

Keep up the good work!!

Anytime a person arms himself or herself with the intent to commit a criminal act I think law enforcement should shoot first and ask questions later. Lets get these punks off the streets. I am 70 years old and remember very very well how peaceful SLC and the state of Utah used to be. Rights and be damned, clean out the trash now. Nice job officers.

I agree that the police acted appropriately in this situation. This guy had taken a woman hostage, had opened fire on police without any reason and was in fact resisting. The only thing that concerns me is we don't know how many times the officers fired. I would be okay with somewhere between 3 and 9 but if they fired more than that they should receive more training.

There are times when I would be the first to argue that the police used excessive force and I have done so in the past but this isn't one of them as far as I'm concerned unless the number of times they fired is extremely outrageous, such as 15 to 20, because not only would that be an unwarranted reaction to one shot by the suspect but it would result in an increased liklihood of an innocent bystander being shot and killed.

So as far as I'm concerned most people would think these officers acted appropriately.

Californian,

It's sad that he served a mission and then began a life of crime that led to his death. There are many factors that could have caused him to turn to crime finally leading to his death. This is something we will never know and it is for God to judge anyway.

He may even have had a testimony of the gospel at the time he opened fire on the officers and was shot and killed. Our prayers should be with him, his family and the officers and their families. We must never assume that he was guilty of anything. I do believe that even criminals value their life and freedom and that this could have been the reason why he opened fire on the officers because he preferred death to the alternative the police were offering him.

Guy got what he deserved. Another thug taken out. Good thing no inocent people were hurt.

Assuming you're not a troll, I think you probably served with someone else who had the same name, because according to the article this Mr. Tran was first arrested back when he was 18 years old.

I don't think the Church would have let him go on a mission if he was in jail or awaiting trial when he got his mission call.

If you are a troll, next time make sure you read the article thoroughly before posting. You have to make your story plausible if you want to dupe people.

why did they wait to shoot him?. Because they don't know how to hit the bad guy without hittng the hostage. It is only by dumb luck and the bravery of the hostage, not the cop that saved the woman's life.
The cops in this case were behind a barricade that protected them from the bullets and the bad guy, without his hostage was like shooting fish in a barrel.

They should have tasered him.

Now it Begins? I think you've got a big problem buddy. If you are in Law Enforcement you should probably think about getting out of it with your attitude. You've got just a little to much John Wayne in you.

I so thankful that none of the Officers or victims were injured and that the Officers took the appropriate action.

More armed citizens and clerks and these robberies will stop. Legalize drugs and these robberies will stop. Two simple solutions to this increasing problem.

Good job officers for doing your duty and gunning this guy down to his death. I just wish more citizens were willing to protect themselves so the balance of reward and consequence will slip further towards the side of consequence, since our legal system isn't exactly punishing or jailing these hooligans sufficiently.

Sad he died but he's in paradise,

I agree with most of what you wrote, with one exception: "We must never assume that he was guilty of anything." That statement undermines your entire post. He was guilty of forcible detainer, resisting arrest, and, possibly, attempted murder.

I may be wrong but it seems to me that this individual was an immigrant to this country. If he was an immigrant, why didn’t the authorities sent him back from where he came from after the first criminal offense? I propose that this should be the course for any immigrant that is found guilty of criminal behavior in this country. I don’t care if they are legal or illegal. If you commit a crime, we’ll punish you according to the laws you violated and then we’ll kick you out. End of story. For some of the readers I may sound harsh and “insensitive”. So be it, but being an immigrant myself, I don’t want this type of thugs wondering our streets and giving a bad name to those of us that have come to this wonderful country to have a better life. Finally, I want to congratulate the West Valley Police officers for taking appropriate, effective and decisive action in this case.

I believe in the local belief system that paradise is reserved for those that have served the lord throughout their life, not firing on police officers.

This guy was my uncle he lived with me..I just saw him playing chess yesterday morning....seeing all these comments...I know what he did was wrong....but just reasin about things like " good job, happy ending, good shooting", just makes me kinda upset about it..he was like one of my friends.

I find myself strangely happy to see the overwhelming support for our police in this commentary blog. It's simple in my mind: If you want to live don't point a gun in any direction with police officers present and fire. I agree that this is probably no simpler than committing suicide by forcing a police reaction. The loss of life was necessary and hopefully those officers are supported by their superiors.

The acts of criminals hurt both society and their families. I think that trying to work on our sympathy just because he was your uncle does not change the fact that he made choices that got him killed. He could have played chess instead of threatening people with a gun. God bless our police that protect us so well from these thugs. And by the way, you must admit that it was good shooting on their part. :)

I dont understand one thing. The "legalize drugs" crowd always says what you did, that somehow legalizing drugs will stop burglaries/robberies/thefts. Please explain how legalizing drugs will magically allow adicts to pay for their addictions without continuing to resort to crime. To me it just doesn't pass the common sense test.

I hope most of these comments are from people who are not LDS. The hatred and the remarks like "good ridance", "happy he's dead", "nice shot", etc., etc., are not comments the Savior would use, or want his followers to use.

This was a tragic incident for all parties involved. We all need to act a little more Christian and leave the judging to a much higher authority.

thank you to the police for taking a criminal off the street albeit not the way we would hope but this man apparently desired a confrontation if he is taking hostages. too many criminals are repeat offenders left on the open society to continue to abuse others. perhaps we need to ship them off to an island with no means of escape other than to swim.
very sad we have criminals like this on our streets.

Otis, Is this better, Now he can learn about the plan of salvation so much sooner. Aleast our tax dollars can go to much better use.

Are you serious? Let's say someone commits a crime against you, say breaks into your house and takes your wife hostage. Say at the time that you and a couple buddies happen to have tasers and guns, then your wife somehow gets away. Are you honestly going to be the one to put down your gun and try to tase the guy while he still has his gun drawn? Good thing you're not protecting the streets, I feel much safer knowing that.

It's interesting how you know or are related to most of the peopel that are written about in the paper. maybe the cops ought to be watching you.
The only thin I see wrong with this sory it that the guy was on the strees at all. With his record he should have been in jail maybe playing chess with Anonymous.

Legalizing drugs won't do away with the personality changes that drug use causes. A huge percentage of serious child abuse, for example, is caused by meth users. I've seen what meth does--it changes people. Even if the meth were free (who is going to pay for THAT?) the personality changes would still be there.
Alcohol is legal--it's still expensive and people commit crimes to get it all the time.
One of my sons lived in Colombia and he could give you an earful about what the acceptance of drugs does to a country. You want to see 5 year old kids bombed out on basuca (from coca leaves) lying in the streets--their brains already gone? He did and it still haunts him.
Legalizing drugs isn't the answer.

Behaved with restraint:

You obviously don't know that enraged people might get shot 3 times and still act like NOTHING happened. There's been numerous incidents of officer shooting a suspect once or twice with a FATAL BLOW TO THE HEAD and they ended up killing the police officer.

Continue with your criminal coddling behavior.

This guy did wrong doing, but the police didnt have to kill him. They could have at least fired a shot or two to keep him from doing anything. Police think they have the power just cause they have the badge and a gun.