Carjacked mail truck in Bountiful led to police standoff
Feb 5, 2024, 8:07 PM | Updated: 8:07 pm
Scene after man taken into custody in Bountiful. (Aimee Cobabe)
(Aimee Cobabe)
BOUNTIFUL, Utah — A carjacking of a mail truck in Salt Lake City turned into a standoff in Bountiful around 1:00 p.m. on Monday.
According to Centerville’s Police Chief Paul Child, the situation started on 2600 South in Bountiful, when the suspect fled in a mail truck after side-swiping a car. The victim of the hit-and-run then followed the mail truck.
The police said the suspect next tried to run over two people in a Burt Brothers parking lot. They were not hit.
Everything escalated when the mail truck reached a dead-end on Porter Lane in Centerville, leading to collisions with both civilian and police vehicles. Throughout the chase, several cars were hit by the mail truck. The driver also tried to run over a police officer.
After two police vehicles pinned the truck between them, police said the suspect, armed with a knife, defied officers’ commands. That’s when the scene became a standoff.
The standoff
“Officers tasered him multiple times, and at one point, he [the driver] tore the probes out of his body after being tased,” Child said. “So [it] became a barricaded situation.”
Negotiations then started, with a Spanish-speaking officer attempting to communicate with the suspect described by police as uncooperative.
Child said the situation intensified when the suspect brandished a stick resembling a rifle. At that point, police deployed less lethal measures.
Then, the driver moved to the back of the truck and began throwing things at the officers.
After an hour, the suspect surrendered to police.
Child said that the suspect carjacked the mail truck in Salt Lake City. This adds federal implications to the suspect’s list of charges.
Medical crews examined the suspect after his arrest and said there were no serious injuries. Child expressed relief at the resolution.
“There was a lot of good restraint on the officers part when he first presented that item that looked like a gun,” said Child, “we’re very happy that we didn’t actually have an actual use of lethal Force here. So that’s always good. It’s the best resolution we could ask for.”
The investigation is ongoing and involves Bountiful and Centerville police departments, the US Postal Service, and Salt Lake City officials.
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