New details in Lehi officer-involved shooting

PROVO — A mentally disturbed woman involved in a shoot-out with Lehi officers never shot twice at Police Capt. Harold Terry.

Instead, Kelly Wark fired one shot from the hip that ricocheted off her car door, sending fragments into the left side of Terry's head.

These new details come from a report recently sent from Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman to the Lehi Police Department.

In the letter, Buhman clears the police officers who fatally fired on Wark, 34, of Gig Harbor, Wash., then outlines the series of events on June 23.

Wark had been at a gas station at 850 E. Main in Lehi that morning and appeared "kind of lethargic" and "extremely impaired" to the clerk, who called 911 to report a possible drunken driver.

Terry was in the area and was the first officer to pull Wark over near 1100 E. Main, Buhman writes. As Terry turned on his emergency lights, the dash-cam video began recording, providing authorities with a visual record.

As Terry approached the car, Wark began rolling her window up, according to Buhman's report.

The two began talking and Terry asked Wark if she was OK and asked her to roll down the window so he could hear her, which she did.

After she handed over her license and registration, Buhman said Terry began asking general questions about where she was living and how she was feeling.

Another Lehi officer had arrived and was standing next to Terry while they talked.

When Terry again asked Wark about her odd behavior at the gas station, Wark responded by trying to grab her license and registration back from Terry.

"Don't do that," Terry told her, according to the report.

Wark asked if she would get her papers back, and Terry told her, "Yes, in a minute."

Terry asked Wark to turn the car off and take the keys out, which she did. Then she became angry and again tried to grab the papers, according to the report.

At that point, the other officer grabbed the keys from her hand and Terry leaned into the driver's window.

"Don't touch me!" Wark screamed repeatedly, and when Terry withdrew, she rolled up her windows continually screaming, adding the phrase, "They are killing me!"

Family members and friends told the Deseret News that Wark had struggled with mental illness for several years and lived in fear, especially of police officers.