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SALT LAKE CITY — A man died during an exchange of gunfire with a Utah Highway Patrol trooper Friday morning on a freeway off-ramp in Salt Lake City.
At least one eyewitness said possibly a dozen shots were fired.
The incident began when a Utah Highway Patrol trooper attempted to pull over a vehicle at 7:06 a.m. on westbound I-80 near Redwood Road, said Salt Lake police detective Cary Wichmann. Wichmann did not know the nature of the traffic stop.
Josh Bohrn was driving on I-80 at the time and saw the UHP trooper's flashing lights.
"He obviously wasn't going to pull over for the officer. He was swerving in and out of the lanes for no apparent reason," Bohrn said.
The man was not speeding, he said, and at times seemed to be going under the speed limit, but refused to pull over.
About two minutes later, the trooper appeared to force the fleeing vehicle off the freeway by pulling up next to it on northbound I-215 and nudging it off at the 700 North off-ramp, Bohrn said. When the vehicles got about halfway down the off-ramp, the trooper stopped the vehicle by forcing it into the concrete barrier off the shoulder, he said.
What happened next was two to three shots were fired by the fleeing driver, Bohrn said.
"I'm like 'Holy crap, this is really serious now,'" he said. "At first I thought the cop was hit. Then I saw him get out of his vehicle and in one motion pulls the gun from his holster, turned and fired back at the Passat."
Bohrn believed the trooper fired three or four shots. He then watched the trooper move to the back of his patrol car for cover. While doing so, Bohrn said he saw a clip fly out of the trooper's gun and he put in a new one.
"He used the rear of his vehicle as a shield. He was bobbin' up and down, checking the vehicle. He must have saw something, because he backed up to his own vehicle and fired off three or four more shots. At that point he assessed the situation, opened his trunk and got out his assault rifle and put it around his neck."
Bohrn said the trooper moved from the back of his car and jumped over the concrete barrier for cover, so he was now facing the passenger side of the other car. He positioned himself so he could see inside, and then appeared to relax more as he determined the situation was over.
It wasn't until after the shootout was over that the trooper appeared to be able to get on his police radio and call for backup, Bohrn said. More officers arrived after the shooting was over.
The trooper was not injured.
There was no immediate information from police about the trooper or the man.
The victim's vehicle, which had California license plates, had the back window shot out. There also appeared to be multiple bullet holes in the front windshield.
Email:preavy@ksl.com
