BOUNTIFUL, Utah, Feb. 5, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A man police say was armed with a knife was taken into custody Monday afternoon after he allegedly stole a mail delivery truck and fled law enforcement agents in two counties, damaged multiple vehicles and injured three officers, in one case by biting.
The incident began at about 12:51 p.m., a statement from Salt Lake City Police says. A caller alerted dispatch to a man reportedly trying to open doors in the area of 1600 W. Northwood Ave.
“While responding, SLCPD officers received information that the suspect threatened a postal employee with a knife before stealing the mail truck,” the police statement says. “The postal employee was not physically harmed. Law enforcement in Davis County found the truck near 500 W. Porter Lane in Bountiful City and took the man into custody.”
Officers from agencies including the Bountiful, Centerville and Woods Cross police departments and the Davis County Sheriff’s Office found the missing truck and tried to take the driver into custody after he entered a dead-end street, said Centerville Police Chief Paul Child.
A barricade was set up, and the driver tried to escape, nearly injuring an officer, Child said. Two officers used Tasers on the suspect and he was struck by two electrodes, but managed to pull them off. He told the officers he had a gun, but officers determined he was not holding a gun, Child said, so they did not fire on him.
A Spanish-speaking officer was called in, and negotiations went on for about 30 minutes, but the man did not come out of the truck. Pepper balls were fired into the truck, and the man was taken into custody at 2:15 p.m., Child said.
Child said three officers suffered minor injuries in the scuffle, with one of them being bitten by the suspect. He said a shelter-in-place alert was issued through reverse 911, but “here in Centerville, it’s really incredible no one was hurt.”
The mail in the truck will need to be decontaminated, Child said.
Gephardt Daily will have more information as additional details are released.
