Naked woman steals police car, resists arrest

WEST VALLEY CITY — A naked woman stole two vehicles, including a police squad car, crashed both vehicles and was Tasered before being arrested Tuesday morning by West Valley police.

The bizarre series of events began at about 5 a.m. in West Jordan. A man was posting advertising signs along state Route 111 and was outside of his vehicle when an unclothed woman pulled up.

The 31-year-old woman, from Kearns, got out of her car, got into his and took off, said West Valley Police Capt. Tom McLachlan. The man got into her car and followed, he said.

About 5:30 a.m., near 5300 South, the road makes several turns.

"One turn she did not even attempt to negotiate," McLachlan said.

The woman drove off the road, through a fence and onto Alliant Techsystems property. The woman got out of the car and ran, McLachlan said.

Later, police learned the man had a concealed weapons permit and had a handgun inside his car, but the woman apparently didn't see it.

When police arrived, they began searching the ATK site. An officer spotted the woman hiding behind a bush, McLachlan said. As the officer was waiting for backup to arrive, the woman ran toward him.

Two officers attempted to restrain the woman and get her to put her hands on the hood of a police car, but because of her sweat and a small amount of blood — the result of crashing through the fence — the woman was able to slip free, McLachlan said.

The woman ran to the other police car and started to drive off.

"Officers attempted to drag her out of the car but were unable. She started to drag them, so they let go," he said.

The woman crashed through another large fence at ATK and launched the car off a berm; it flew 50 feet into another berm, McLachlan said.

Abandoning the car, the woman scaled a chain-link fence that had barbed wire on top, McLachlan said. Officers were waiting for her on the other side and used a Taser. They took her into custody, although she continued to resist while paramedics checked her out.

The woman was taken to a local hospital to be treated for her injuries and for a mental evaluation. McLachlan said there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol and he was not aware of her having any prior criminal history.

If the woman is released from the mental evaluation, McLachlan said, she will be booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of a number of charges, including fleeing, two counts of stealing a vehicle and resisting arrest.

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