3 detained in S.L. during presidential visit

Three people were arrested or detained by Salt Lake City police and the Secret Service during the president's visit.

A 57-year-old man caught the eye of the Secret Service as he approached the Salt Palace pushing a homemade wheelchair, Salt Lake City police detective Dwayne Baird said. The man was not handicapped.

As the man tried to push his chair through the metal detector, he threw himself onto the ground near the building entrance, Baird said. The man gave authorities a false name and address, he said.

Police arrested the man for investigation of failure to comply with police orders and giving false information to law enforcement. Later, detectives discovered the man's real name was Ross Anderson — the same name as Salt Lake City's mayor, although he was not the mayor.

A second person was taken away by the Secret Service for questioning after he allegedly drove his car around two road barricades near 500 South and 500 West as the president was preparing to leave the Salt Palace for the airport.

Baird said the man came up twice to a barricade set up for the president's motorcade, stopped and then drove through it. The man was ordered out of his car at gunpoint by police and then turned over to the Secret Service.

As of Monday evening, Baird said he did not know if the man had officially been arrested.

A juvenile was also arrested Monday by Salt Lake City police. The teen walked down the middle of a street along the president's motorcade route wearing a ski mask and carrying a backpack. The teen allegedly ignored orders from officers to stop and remove the mask. He was arrested for investigation of failure to comply.

But overall, Baird said, the president's visit went smoothly from a law enforcement standpoint.

During Bush's trip to and from the airport, all streets near the vicinity of the presidential motorcade were blocked off as the president went by, including 600 South and sections of I-15.

"Every time we have a motorcade, we close every route," Baird said.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com