SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 1, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A suspect who allegedly pulled over a group of teens while impersonating an officer Friday, who then was found hiding in a hot tub filled with cold water, has been identified.
William Calhoun, 25, was located inside the hot tub in a backyard wearing only his shirt and underwear after running from police for around an hour. He was caught around Foothill Drive and Hubbard Avenue, at about 950 South.
Lt. Andy Oblad of Salt Lake City Police Department said the incident started at Wasatch Drive and about 1200 South around 11:20 p.m. when a group of teens called in to say they’d been stopped by Calhoun and something didn’t seem right.
“An officer was there pretty quick and as the officer was talking to the witnesses, the same vehicle drove by, and the kids said ‘Hey, we think that’s the guy,'” said Oblad. “So an officer did a traffic stop on that car, and as the officer walked up to him, he ran on foot.”
Calhoun ran west from Wasatch Drive, through a golf course, and up to 30 backyards in an adjoining neighborhood, Oblad said.
“We had some K-9s in, and tracked him for about an hour around the neighborhood, until he made it across Foothill and an officer saw him,” Oblad said. “The K-9s started tracking again. With the officers driving around setting up a perimeter and the K-9s together putting the squeeze on him, we caught him. He was jumping fences and doing everything he could to get away.”
Oblad said the suspect originally pulled two groups of teenagers over while wearing a T-shirt that said “Police.” He did not have a weapon on him, but his vehicle had red and blue lights, and inside police found a Taser and a scanner. He asked the teens various questions, including what they were doing and why they were all wearing black.
“As he was asking questions the kids were kind of questioning him, saying they weren’t doing anything wrong, and it seemed like it spooked him, too, because he got in his car and left really fast,” said Oblad.
Calhoun was complaining of asthma and pain in his knees when he was caught. Nobody else was injured in the incident.
Officers booked Calhoun into jail on two counts of impersonating an officer and fleeing.
