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SALT LAKE CITY — A wanted fugitive who police say swung a machete at officers who were trying to arrest him was taken into custody Tuesday without anyone being injured.
About 7:45 p.m., Salt Lake City gang detectives were in the area of 1700 West and 1000 North looking for Rick Speer, 40, according to police. They went to a home with an arrest warrant.
"His mother answered the door as detectives watched the man flee into a bathroom, armed with a machete. As officers approached, he began swinging it at them, yelling that the officers would have to kill him," said Salt Lake police detective Veronica Montoya.
Instead of drawing their guns, officers used a Taser to take Speer into custody. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of meth and outstanding warrants.
The arrest came about four hours before another Salt Lake police officer had his ear lobe nearly severed in an unrelated incident. In that case, officers were able to take the suspect into custody using a Taser and batons and did not resort to guns.
Speer has a lengthy criminal history, according to Utah state court records. Most recently, a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 28 in connection with a series of thefts and burglaries in Salt Lake City.
