SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 28, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A homeless man was booked into jail Sunday morning after he allegedly assaulted and attempted to disarm two peace officers.
Kenneth Wesley Smith, 26, was trespassing indoors at the park on Fort Union, his affidavit says.
“Reports were a male was sleeping in a hallway,” says the court document, filed by an officer of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
“Upon my arrival, I met the manager who said he had asked the man to leave but he would not. The manager stated he wanted the man trespassed. My partner and I confronted the male and he identified himself as Kenneth Smith. I ran Kenneth and found two active no-bail warrants, one for assault on a police officer.”
The filing officer asked Smith to stand and place his hands behind his back, “and he started to,” the affidavit says. “As I grabbed his hands to place the cuffs, Kenneth started to grab my hands and started to stiff up and attempted to pull away. I attempted to stabilize him against my car, but Kenneth started to pull away from me.”
The officer attempted to move Smith to the ground, he said, but Smith “started to actively fight against me and my partner. We started to fight with Kenneth to gain control of his hands. I attempted two dry stun with my taser and they were unsuccessful. During the fight, Kenneth attempted to grab my firearm twice.”
Additional officers arrived, and Smith was handcuffed and arrested at 5:03 a.m. He was transported to the Salt Lake County jail and booked for investigation of:
- Two counts of disarming a police officer — firearm, a first-degree felony
- Two counts of assault against a peace officer, a third-degree felony
- Interference with peace officer, a class B misdemeanor
Actual charges will be determined by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Smith was ordered held without bail.
