The Deseret Morning News
SPRINGVILLE, Utah — After a car and foot chase, police late Tuesday night Tasered and arrested a 24-year-old man when he alarmed them by reaching for a possible weapon, according to a 4th District Court affidavit.
“It was unknown what his intentions were,” police wrote in their report.
Police, however, believe the man expected to be shot to death instead of hit with 50,000 volts of electricity.
After he was arrested, he told police he was “trying suicide by cop” — when someone intentionally acts in a threatening way to trigger a lethal response from law enforcement.
The man had no weapons but is being investigated for five other crimes, according to jail and court documents.
When police responded to a possible burglary to a business along 800 East, the man ignored an officer’s command to stop and fled, leading officers on a zigzag chase. The man crashed but jumped out and continued his escape on foot in the dark and hid from pursuing officers in some residential shrubbery.
Police say they smelled alcohol and are investigating a third DUI charge for the man in just over three years. He was booked into the Utah County Jail on a $2,500 cash or bond bail and is set for a felony first appearance in 4th District Court April 23.
Copyright 2008 The Deseret Morning News