Officer shoots and kills man who rammed police cars

SOUTH JORDAN — A man who rammed several police vehicles while fleeing from officers who were pursuing him was shot and killed early Thursday.

The incident began about 1:20 a.m. when a South Jordan police officer spotted a suspicious vehicle coming out of a business area near 9800 South and Bangerter Highway, said West Jordan Police Sgt. Drew Sanders. Believing the driver might have been involved in a burglary, the officer attempted to pull the car over, Sanders said.

Instead, the driver accelerated, but the officer did not engage in a chase, Sanders said.

The vehicle went into a residential area and the driver tried to hide by turning off his lights, he said. Police kept surveillance of the area, however, and spotted him leaving.

"He came out and tried to ram an officer's car," Sanders said.

At that point, police engaged in a chase. The pursuit went into another residential area in neighboring West Jordan, where the driver ended up in a cul-de-sac, Sanders said. The man tried to escape by ramming two police cars at least three times, he said.

"They try to take him into custody, but he kept ramming one of the police cars," Sanders said.

A South Jordan officer, fearing his life was in danger, shot at the driver, hitting and killing him.

The name of the man was not released Thursday morning. The officer was placed on standard paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

Paramedics checked the officers involved in the crashes at the scene, but they were not transported to the hospital.

It's the second police chase this week in Salt Lake County to end in gunfire.

Tuesday night, Sandy police chased a man who tried to run over an officer near 7800 South and 800 East. The officer jumped out of the way and fired a shot, which did not hit the suspect. The chase ended at intersection near 8000 South and 1300 East where the driver produced his own weapon and fatally shot himself.

E-MAIL: preavy@desnews.com