Police chase theft suspects, deploy Taser, crash cop car
Apr 24, 2018, 10:56 PM | Updated: Apr 25, 2018, 6:22 pm
SANDY, Utah — A short pursuit of two armed juvenile shoplifting suspects led officers to deploy a Taser, and ended with an officer-involved fender bender.
Shortly after a theft at the Scheels store, located at 11282 S. State St., a Draper police officer spotted a pair of juveniles, matching the descriptions of the shoplifters, walking on a sidewalk nearby, said Draper Police Sgt. Mike Elkins.
The two juveniles were armed with airsoft guns and kitchen knives, Elkins said, and one jumped a fence as the other pulled a knife on the approaching officer. The officer deployed a Taser in response, he said.
After the officer called for backup, another police car, racing to respond, crossed into a turning lane and collided with a car on the southbound I-15 exit ramp at 11400 South. Elkins said the crash was “minor fender bender” that did not injure anyone.
Photos from the scene showed a Draper police supervisor’s SUV with a torn right fender.
Both shoplifting suspects were taken into custody late Tuesday.