Man shot by West Valley police dies

Man shot by police dies from injuries

WEST VALLEY CITY — A man shot by police after hitting an officer with his car has died from his injuries.

Travis Paul Johnson, 39, had been at Intermountain Medical Center since the Jan. 27 incident. On the day of the shooting, he was in the driver's seat of a car parked at Burger King, 3470 S. Redwood Road. Police say he had been about to make a drug deal with the occupants of another vehicle that had pulled up next to him.

As three West Valley police officers approached the vehicles, Johnson tried to speed away, police said. In doing so, he clipped one officer and ran over his foot. Another officer fired an undisclosed number of shots at the vehicle, striking Johnson.

The passenger in Johnson's car and the three others in the second vehicle all ran off but were apprehended a short time later, police said.

Shane Paul Owen, 38, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, possession of drugs with intent to distribute and obstruction of justice. Rodin Denaldo Lopez, 25; Juan Raymon Varela-Acosta, age unknown; and Jose Francisco Arrazola-Pyrcios, 18, all were booked for investigation of heroin distribution. All three were believed to be illegal immigrants.

The officer who shot Johnson remained on standard paid administrative leave Wednesday pending an investigation.

"We feel bad that the individual is deceased. But his actions dictated the officer's response," West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan said.

— Pat Reavy