Unified Police officer injured, suffers broken bones in confrontation with burglary suspect

File photo: Unified Police/Gephardt Daily

MILLCREEK, Utah, April 18, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A burglary suspect in Millcreek was booked into jail Saturday after he allegedly pushed a responding Unified Police officer over a curb, causing the officer to suffer a couple of fractures.

Matthew Marcus Shunk, 43, faces charges of:

  • Assault on a peace officer or military service member in uniform, a second-degree felony
  • Possession with intent to distribute a C/substances, a second-degree felony
  • Burglary, a third-degree felony
  • Failure to stop at the command of an officer, a class A misdemeanor
  • Interference with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor

Officers were dispatched Saturday morning to Millcreek on a report of the suspect running through backyards. Witnesses later reported the same man with bags of property in his hands, Shunk’s probable cause statement says.

“Victim of burglary later confirmsĀ these items came out of their detached garage,” says a statement filed by a Unified Police officer in the case of Shunk. “Citizens confront AP (arrested person), he drops the items and flees on foot.”

Officers located Shunk fleeing from the scene, and stopped his vehicle, “and while attempting to take APĀ into custody, he pushes an officer over a curb and flees on foot. This officer falls, is injured, and treated at a hospital. This officer is found to have two broken bones.”

Other officers gave chase, and took Shunk into custody, the statement says.

“Inside of the vehicle the AP was operating, officers locate controlled substances, to include marijuana, shrooms, and a large amount of heroine pre-packaged into small, distributable packages,” the probable cause statement says. “Post-Miranda, AP admits to the burglary, an officer trying to arrest him, breaking away from the officer, and
fleeing on foot.”

Shunk was booked into the Salt Lake County jail system.

“AP is from Nevada and told officers he knows no one in Salt Lake. AP claims to have no stable residence, family, or other tie to the Salt Lake area,” the statement says.

Shunk was ordered held without bail.

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