ST. GEORGE, Utah, Nov. 20, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — St. George police say they responded to a family fight Saturday, chased the suspect who rammed a police car and fled on foot, searched for hours, and finally Tased the man and arrested him after he kicked two officers in the head.
The call came in at about 11:08 p.m. Saturday, a statement from St. George police says.
Officers responded to the residential complex at 1732 W. 540 North.
“One of the involved parties, Austin Sharette, had a no bail warrant protective order as well as outstanding domestic violence charges,” it says.
Sharette’s probable cause statement said he initially hid in the truck of his vehicle. As police called for his surrender, he made his way through the vehicle into the driver’s seat and put his key in the ignition.
“During the investigation, Austin attempted to flee from the residence in a vehicle, striking a patrol vehicle multiple times. The vehicle was abandoned within the same complex and he fled on foot.”
Multiple agencies responded to assist, including the Utah Highway Patrol helicopter. A reverse 911 message was sent out to residents to shelter in place while officers searched the area, the statement says.
The search was called off approximately three hours later and another reverse 911 was sent out telling residents to remain vigilant.
“Austin was later located hiding near Westridge Drive and Sunset. After a brief foot pursuit and multiple Taser deployments, he was ultimately taken into custody,” the St. George police statement says.
“Two police officers sustained minor injuries during this incident. Austin Sharette was cleared medically and booked into jail for multiple charges with multiple counts.”
Those officers were kicked in the head by Sharette, arrest documents say.
Sharette, 34, was arrested on suspicion of:
- Five counts of assault on peace officer/military with use of dangerous weapon, a second-degree felony
- Two counts of disarming officer energy device, a third-degree felony
- Failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop, a third-degree felony
- Criminal mischief, intentional damage/deface/destroy property, a third-degree felony
- Assault on peace officer or military member in uniform, a class A misdemeanor
- Two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a class B misdemeanor
- Accident property damage with knowledge of accident, a class B misdemeanor
- Two counts of interference with arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor
- Assault, a class B misdemeanor
The SGPD statement thanked assisting agencies for the help and residents for cooperation. It advised St. George residents who would like to sign up for reverse 911 notifications to do so at this link.
