SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 21, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A person shot earlier this month in an exchange with Salt Lake City police has died of those injuries.
“Today, the Salt Lake City Police Department learned the suspect in the January 13, 2023, officer-involved-critical-incident died,” says a news release issued Saturday.
“The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause of death. The name and age of the suspect is not being released at this time, pending next-of-kin notifications.
“Upon next-of-kin notifications, the OICI Protocol Team investigating this incident may choose to release the person’s name. The four officers previously placed on standard paid administrative leave remain on leave pending the investigation.”
Salt Lake City police said the incident happened as part of a pursuit involving two people with felony warrants, one of whom surrendered to police after the fleeing vehicle crashed.
The other fled the scene on foot and was believed to be armed when shot by officers, police said.
Police public relations spokesman Brent Weisberg said at the time the investigation began about 2:30 a.m. Jan. 13 when officers attempted to pull over a vehicle near 1300 W. Arapahoe Ave.
“The driver of the suspect car refused to stop and took off driving through our city in a reckless manner,” Weisberg said. “Officers began a pursuit chasing after the car.”
Police did not release additional details about the pursuit, citing the ongoing investigation, though Weisberg said officers used “a tire-deflation device, also known as a spike strip, to deflate the front tires of the vehicle.”
The vehicle later crashed into a parked car near 500 North and Star Crest Drive, Weisberg said.
“The passenger of that vehicle got out and immediately surrendered to Salt Lake City police officers and was safely taken into custody,” he said.
“The driver, however, abandoned that car and ran toward a home. At this point, we are still investigating the connection to that home and the suspect to see if there’s any relation to it,” he said.
“Our officers chased after the suspect to continue to ensure community safety. Based on the limited information that we have at this time, we do believe that the suspect had some sort of weapon,” Weisberg said.
Four officers immediately were placed on paid administrative leave while SLCPD’s Internal Affairs Unit and an outside agency investigate the officer-involved critical incident, Weisberg said.
