RIVERTON, Utah, March 9, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Riverton officials told Gephardt Daily that a second man was on scene when police originally approached 40-year-old Joshua Mel-Scott Watson, an alleged car burglar who later was shot and killed after reportedly pulling a gun on police.
Police were dispatched at about 5:40 a.m. Friday, Riverton Police spokesman Josh Lee said.
Lee said he was told there was a second person in Watson’s car when he took off from police, “then, sometime in the chase, the other individual was let out.”
The pursuing officers did a “slow speed” pursuit, keeping Watson’s vehicle within view as much as possible without resorting to high speeds that might endanger the public, Lee said.
“He wasn’t trying to pursue them in a way that would make it reckless, so the officer would back off and continue to follow them. He turned off his lights, but he continued to follow them, so that way, they would slow down and not cause continual danger perhaps to other pedestrians, or to people driving on the roads.”
Lee said no second car burglary suspect in the case has been arrested, as far as he knows.
Watson led officers through several cities before they caught up with him in Riverton, Lee said. It started in Sandy, and also hit Herriman before ending in Riverton at about 6:30 p.m.
Police “surrounded the vehicle and the suspect presented a weapon and (made) threats, and soon after that there were shots fired and the suspect is now deceased.”
Salt Lake City Protocol Team 1 is handing the investigation of the officer-involved shooting, Lee said.
