WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, May 3, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A West Valley City police officer narrowly avoided serious injury early Thursday morning after he came perilously close to being pinned between his squad car and the vehicle of a fleeing drug suspect.
West Valley City police Lt. Mike Fossmo told Gephardt Daily the incident took place about 5:05 a.m. after police noticed a man and woman sitting in a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot of a church near 4250 S. 4800 West.
As officers approached the car, they saw what they believed to be drug activity inside vehicle.
One of the officers was questioning a male suspect sitting behind the wheel of the car with the driver’s side door open when the man threw the car into reverse and stepped on the gas.
The West Valley City officer was thrown backward and came within inches of being crushed between the suspect’s car and his police cruiser.
Investigators say the suspect then smashed his car into the three other police vehicles before he jumped from his car and ran into a nearby neighborhood.
The suspect was captured moments later.
A woman who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the suspect’s vehicle was also taken into custody.
They were taken to the Salt Lake County Jail where they were expected to be booked on vehicular assault charges, fleeing from police and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
