OGDEN -- An Ogden family is upset after armed officers showed up at their home to issue a felony arrest warrant in a case of mistaken identity.
Eric Hill said he opened the front door at 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 20 to find three men with assault rifles and two with shotguns.
He said he armed himself with a baseball bat because it took so long for officers to respond when he asked who was at the door. Family members had feared they were going to be robbed.
Hill, 28, was placed in handcuffs and told he was wanted on a desertion charge from the military. But he was never in the military.
Hill's wife, Melanie, said their two children, ages 4 and 10, were terrified to see armed strangers in their house.
"They are just traumatized by it," she told The Tribune.
She said one of the officers made a comment about her husband coming to the door with a bat, saying he would have been "blown away" had it been a gun.
"It was a split decision to grab that bat," Melanie Hill said. "They could have killed him in his house for no reason in front of me and my kids. There should be other tactics to handle this kind of situation."
Ogden police Lt. Will Cragun said officers initially thought Eric Hill matched the description of the 23-year-old man for whom they were searching. He said once officers verified Hill's identity, they released him and apologized for the error.
The actual target of the arrest warrant was found a couple hours later and arrested.
"These things are going to happen on occasion," Cragun said. "It's unfortunate for Mr. Hill. His response (with the bat), I totally get. He has the right to protect his family. I would hope (the officers) are professional."
No formal complaint over the incident has been filed to the police department so far, Cragun said.
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