A man was shot to death by police after, officers say, he robbed a Taylorsville convenience store, stole a police truck, crashed into two other cars and was confronted by officers a second time.
According to Sgt. J.C. Holt of the West Jordan Police Department, a man with a gun robbed the 7-Eleven at 6215 S. Dixie Drive at about 2:30 p.m. Monday. The man was driving west on 6200 South when he was stopped by an officer in a K-9 unit truck who “just happened to be working a traffic shift and was literally just down the street” at 3900 South.
“He attempted to stop the subject, there was some sort of altercation in the roadway,” said Holt. “The suspect was able to gain control of the officer’s patrol vehicle.”
The man fled west on 6200 South in the truck. “He rammed a couple cars and several shots were fired,” Holt said.
Whether the suspect fired back at police is unknown at this time, but he “brandished a gun” at officers, who shot and killed him while he was still in the police vehicle, said Holt.
How the suspect managed to steal the police truck is unclear.
“The officer was trying to confront him, and he was rushing the officer with a gun,” Holt said. “The officer was trying to take cover. It was a very dynamic thing where the officer was moving around and creating distance” between himself and the suspect. “But I don’t know how he as able to get into the truck.
“They’re still in the initial stages of the investigation.”
Two occupants of the cars with which he collided were transported to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. The officers were not injured; a dog in the stolen K-9 unit was also unharmed.
We were concerned for the public’s safety. This happened right on the street,” Holt said. “It could have been much worse that it was.”
Unified Police are taking the lead in the investigation.
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