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STOCKTON, Tooele County — An intoxicated Susan Hunt called the trooper who stopped her from driving recklessly "evil" and refused to get out of her vehicle before she was taken to a local hospital, according to a police report released Thursday.
Hunt, of Saratoga Springs, is the mother of Darrien Hunt, who was shot and killed by police in 2014.
Just before 9 p.m. Tuesday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle driving recklessly and into oncoming traffic near Stockton, Tooele County. The incident was recorded in part by the trooper's dashboard camera. It showed that the trooper had to first put his car in reverse to avoid being hit head-on, and then was hit at a low-speed down the road while trying to get the vehicle to stop.
According to an incident report obtained by the Deseret News through a Government Records Access and Management request, after Hunt's car was stopped, the trooper went to the driver's side door and knocked on the rolled up window.
"Mrs. Hunt did not look at me or acknowledge my presence. I opened the passenger door and saw that Mrs. Hunt appeared to be very confused and not aware she had just been in a crash or that I was trying to stop her. I asked Mrs. Hunt to turn the vehicle off and she was not able to do so. Mrs. Hunt began to push buttons in the vehicle in an attempt to turn it off," the UHP report states.
"I could smell a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mrs. Hunt as she spoke to me and observed her to have red bloodshot eyes," according to the report.
The trooper spotted a case of Redd's Apple Ale beer in the vehicle and an open can, according to the report. She told the trooper she had been drinking, the report states, and also had slurred speech.
But when the trooper asked Hunt to get out of the car, "she refused and became verbally abusive, calling me evil," the trooper wrote.
For the next 13 minutes, the trooper attempted to get Hunt out of the car, but she refused and became verbally abusive, at one point using a series of expletives on the officer, according to the report.
"I told Mrs. Hunt that I was there to help her and I did not want to drag her out of the vehicle. Mrs. Hunt was verbally abusive and told me I was evil and she wished my children would die," the trooper wrote.
Other comments made by Hunt are redacted in the report. UHP Sgt. Todd Royce said those comments "pertained to her medical issue in question."
When Hunt attempted to turn her car back on and drive off, troopers grabbed her arm, prompting Hunt to "become physically combative and began to swing her arms at me, attempting to hit my face," the officer wrote.
Two troopers then pulled Hunt out of the car and placed her in handcuffs. Troopers kept the restraints on her as they loaded her into an ambulance.
Rather than jail, Hunt was taken to a local hospital for "medical reasons that did not pertain" to the collision with the UHP patrol vehicle, Royce said. She was issued a citation for investigation of DUI, driving on the wrong side of the road, reckless driving and disorderly conduct for allegedly refusing to comply with police orders. The summons instructed her to appear in court at a later date.
While this was going on, Hunt's family had called police to report that she was missing.
Susan Hunt taken to hospital in impaired driving investigation
Susan Hunt, the mother of a man fatally shot by police in 2014, was taken to a hospital Tuesday night after a run-in with a Utah Highway Patrol trooper.Saratoga Springs police were called by one of Hunt's family members to report her missing just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, not knowing that she had been stopped about two hours earlier by the UHP in Tooele County. The department asked the Utah County Sheriff's Office to handle the call to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
The family member said they had not heard from Hunt for about three hours, Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said.
"It was clear that they were worried she might hurt herself," he said.
The family member, however, was not specific about what Hunt may have said or why it was believed she may want to harm herself. But the tone was clear, he said. The family member was not sure where Hunt might have gone.
Dispatchers issued an "attempt to locate," meaning any officer who came in contact with her statewide would do a welfare check on her to make sure she was OK. Investigators also tried "pinging" her cellphone, but Cannon said it was turned off by that time.
Hunt's 22-year-old son was shot and killed as he ran from Saratoga Springs police in 2014 after he was questioned about carrying a souvenir katana sword near a business area. At several of her press conferences, Hunt has become very emotional while speaking about the death of her son, at times nearly unable to speak.
In November of 2014, about two months after her son was killed, Hunt was charged in Saratoga Springs Justice Court after getting into a confrontation with officers. The charges included interfering with an arresting officer.
Recently, she has been in a battle with the city of Saratoga Springs and her former attorney over a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Darrien Hunt's estate in federal court. The city claims Hunt had agreed to a settlement while Hunt contends she did not. A judge has been asked to force Hunt to accept the $900,000 settlement.
