Dash-cam released of 'sovereign citizen' who led UHP on I-15 chase

Dash-cam released of 'sovereign citizen' who led UHP on I-15 chase


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SALT LAKE CITY — Police have released dash-cam footage in a chase on I-15 last week that led police through Salt Lake County.

The chase started at about 12:50 p.m. on I-15 near 12300 South. Dash-cam footage shows a woman driving a black Volvo passing a Utah Highway Patrol trooper in the emergency lane. The woman, identified as Lisa Anne Sovereen, 44, refused to pull over as speeds reached 80 mph.

Sovereen called 911 and asked the dispatcher "that the trooper get off her back," according to UHP Cpl. Todd Johnson. She said she believed the trooper would try to ram her car. When the UHP called her back, she said she was not required to pull over and that police had stolen her previous vehicle and taken her blood.

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Police set up tire spikes near 8000 South, but Sovereen avoided them. Tire spikes near 7200 South punctured one tire. Police caught up to Sovereen at about 600 North in Salt Lake City.

In the dash-cam footage, officers can be heard ordering Sovereen out of her car and onto the ground.

"Now you're gonna beat me up?" Sovereen asks repeatedly. "Don't beat me up."

Multiple officers direct Sovereen to lie on the ground on her chest. She resists, saying she recently had surgery on her face.

"This is the last time I'm going to tell you. Now, I'm going to force you to get on your chest if you don't do what I tell you to do."

As she was taken into custody, Sovereen told troopers "she did not stop because she was a sovereign citizen and (police) had no authority to stop her," according to the UHP.

Sovereen was charged with failure to stop for police, a third-degree felony; and reckless driving, a misdemeanor.



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Stephanie Grimes

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