One man is dead and a South Salt Lake police officer is fighting for his life after a burglary turned into a confrontation between police and two suspects.
According to SSLPD public information officer Gary Keller, a call of a burglary in progress at a business complex at 3575 S. West Temple came in at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Officers arrived nine minutes later, and “at that point, there was a confrontation between the suspects and our officers.”
The suspects drove away in their car, striking one of the police officers.
“Police fired shots at the vehicle, striking one of the suspects,” said Keller. That man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The injured police officer “was transported to the hospital in critical condition, and was taken immediately into surgery."
A second suspect ran away and was later taken into custody nearby after being tracked by police dogs.
A huge police presence, including units from the Unified Police Department, Utah Highway Patrol and Cottonwood Heights, worked three separate crime scenes — the burglary scene where the officer was struck; the scene where the car was abandoned; and the scene where the second was apprehended.
“All the suspects are accounted for,” Keller said. “There is no threat to the public right now.”
Keller was visibly shaken as he said, “We've got one officer in the hospital fighting for his life.”
The names of the officer and the suspects were not released on Saturday.
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