This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Unified Police officer and a suspected bank robber were injured as they fought over the officer's gun in a Millcreek grocery store.
Detectives were staking out the Fresh Market at 3900 South 2300 East about 7 p.m. Tuesday, two weeks after a bank inside the store was robbed. The 30-year-old man, caught on camera, was believed to be responsible for six other robberies since November in Millcreek and Salt Lake City, said UPD spokesman Justin Hoyal. The man had displayed a handgun in the prior robberies.
When the suspect went into the same Fresh Market on Tuesday night, the detectives followed him, Hoyal said. As he left the store, the two detectives tried to arrest him.
As they tried to take the man into custody just outside the store doors, the man got a hold of a detective's gun and removed it from the holster, Hoyal said. The officers tried to wrest the gun away from the man while keeping it pointed toward the ground, Hoyal said. The gun fired while an officer had his hand on it, burning the officer's hand, Hoyal said. The bullet passed through the officer's jacket and struck the suspect in the leg, Hoyal said.
The suspect's injury was not serious, and he was in fair condition when he was taken to a hospital, Hoyal said. The officer also was taken to a hospital to treat minor injuries to his hand.
Investigators still do not know the suspect's name. He is suspected of twice robbing a bank inside the Smith's Marketplace near 3300 South and Interstate 215 East as well as robbing a Chase Bank at 2800 East and 3300 South, a 7-Eleven near 2900 East and 3300 south, and two banks in Salt Lake City, Hoyal said.