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A police officer shot a fleeing suspect in the arm Wednesday afternoon after a traffic stop in Kearns.
Two Unified Police Department officers pulled over a car carrying three occupants on 6200 South about 3:15 p.m., said Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder, to arrest a male passenger with an outstanding felony warrant.
When the driver — "an uninvolved family member" — stopped, the suspect's wife got out of the backseat and assaulted one of the officers, Winder said. The suspect, sitting in the front passenger seat, got out and ran north, into a neighborhood. The second officer chased after him.
The man jumped over a fence and into the backyard of a home at about 5800 West; the officer followed, Winder said. The officer then fired one shot that hit the man in the right arm. The suspect kept running and fell down in the driveway of a home.
The officer who allegedly was assaulted by the wife also ran to the house after hearing the gunshot, police say.
The two officers applied a tourniquet to the wound before paramedics arrived and transported the suspect to a nearby hospital in serious condition. The officer who fired the shot also received medical care for "severe" injuries sustained during the pursuit, Winder said, likely from when he jumped over the fence.
The suspect did not have a weapon, though Winder said investigators will search the area. It is unclear, he said, why the officer fired; he was not wearing a body camera, due to "financial constraints" in the department.
A witness standing on a nearby bridge recorded the officers rendering aid, Winder said. That video was turned over to the police.
Because Unified Police officers were involved in the incident, the investigation will be conducted by Salt Lake City Police Department. A state law requires that officer-involved shootings be investigated by a separate law enforcement agency.
"We want to know the truth, and we want to know it as rapidly as possible. That is our expectation," Winder said, later adding: "We have high faith in our officers that they will make sure that their statements are accurate."
The officer who fired the shot will be placed on paid administrative leave. The suspect and his wife were in police custody. It is unknown whether the woman would be arrested.
This is the second officer-involved shooting in Salt Lake County in a week. On Saturday, a Salt Lake City police officer fired at and missed a fleeing suspect on a trespassing call.
Police have not released the names of the officers or the suspect involved in Wednesday's incident.
ctanner@sltrib.com Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner