Police release video of officer falling from roof in attempt to arrest man


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WEST VALLEY CITY — Police have released body camera video of a veteran officer falling from a strip mall roof after a man who was running from police charged at him, officials said.

Nov. 17, officers responded to a Shell gas station at 4018 W. 4100 South, where a man was reportedly loitering and not leaving the business, West Valley Police said.

The man, West Valley City resident Sergio Lopez Ramirez, 32, allegedly gave false information regarding his identity to a police lieutenant and fled on foot. The lieutenant then saw Ramirez run across a street into a construction area and heard loud sounds of shattering glass.

Officers were preparing to search a business at 3940 W. 4100 South — where they discovered multiple broken windows and doors — when other officers saw Ramirez on the roof of a strip mall at 3774 W. 4100 South, police said.

Officers made a perimeter around the strip mall and called for a ladder to get onto the roof. The man said he had a grenade and tried to gain access to the building by tearing off metal roof vents and pipes, which he threw at police.

Ramirez would not comply with police once they were on the roof and he charged at the officers. One officer fell 10 feet from the roof onto concrete.

The 1-minute body-cam video released by police Tuesday picks up when the officer confronts Ramirez on top of the roof, and he charges at him. The officer loses his balance, and his camera shows him falling and hitting the pavement below.

Both the officer, whose name was not released Tuesday, and others on the ground remained surprisingly calm. After a few groans, the officer is heard saying , "All right. Hold up."

"I'm lucky I didn't hit my head," he later said, assuring his partners he wasn't seriously injured.

Another officer asks him if "it feels like it's broken" and then helps him to his feet. The officer was evaluated at a hospital but sent home the same night after doctors determined he only suffered bumps and bruises.

Ramirez was eventually booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of threats of terrorism, criminal mischief — both felonies — and additional misdemeanors.

The injured officer sustained bumps and bruises but was treated and released from the hospital.

Contributing: Pat Reavy

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