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KEARNS — Police say a man stole a Unified police officer's car then led them on a short chase that ended in the parking lot of the police precinct in Kearns.
Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal said around 10 a.m. police received a call of a suspicious person near 5100 South and 4620 West. Neighbors reported a man wearing a black hat, black coat, and carrying a black garbage bag was looking into the windows of homes in the neighborhood.
Police responded, couldn't initially find the man, but then located him about an hour later. When an officer tried to talk to him, he took off running.
Hoyal said a police officer caught up with him, and he seemed to surrender peacefully. But while the officer was trying to handcuff the suspect, Hoyal said the man tried to grab the officer's weapon. He then jumped into the front seat of the officer's car. The officer attempted to use a stun gun on the man, but he drove away.
A short chase ensued through several Kearns neighborhoods with speeds only between 40 to 50 mph, he said. The chase ended when the man drove to the Unified police Kearns substation, 4250 W. 5415 South, to surrender.
A Unified police car was close behind and blocked the man's vehicle from being able to go any farther. As the officer was arresting George Kallas, 41, he told them he had left the stolen police vehicle in drive and it hit the car that blocked him, Hoyal said.
There were no serious injuries, and damage to the police cars was minimal, Hoyal said. Kallas was arrested for investigation of a number of charges including assault on a police officer, fleeing, attempting to disarm a police officer and escaping from custody.
Kallas has a lengthy criminal history, according to Utah state court records. He was charged with misdemeanor drug possession in September and criminal mischief in October. His most serious charges came in 1999 when he was sentenced to the Utah State Prison on a credit card fraud conviction. He was also convicted of a felony firearms charge in 1999 in a separate case.
Contributing: Peter Samore