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Editor's note:The attached video contains graphic material and may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.WEST VALLEY CITY — Police on Sunday released body camera footage showing the moment last month when a man reversed his car into police vehicles and injured an officer who became wedged between the door and one of the patrol cars.
The driver, Andrew Lucero, was also charged with several felonies in relation to the case.
The incident stemmed from a routine car inspection on May 3 in a church parking lot near 4250 S. 4800 West about 5:30 a.m.
Officers approached a parked vehicle with a running engine they said looked suspicious and found Lucero, 30, and a female passenger passed out in the driver and passenger seats, according to charging documents. Drug paraphernalia was also visible to the officers.
Officers parked their vehicles behind Lucero's vehicle, court documents say.
The body camera footage shows one officer knocking on the driver's side window and another officer knocking on the passenger side window. When driver and passenger woke up, officers told Lucero to shut off the engine and get out of the car, according to charging documents. The body camera footage shows one officer standing between the open car door and the body of the car.
Lucero reached for the ignition, "and then made a quick motion to the gear shift stick," according to charging documents. The body camera footage then shows Lucero reversing the car. This caused the officer who was standing inside the driver's side door to "get caught in the door and slam … back into a patrol vehicle," according to charging documents. The officer was then "pinned between the patrol vehicle and Lucero's vehicle," charging documents state. Lucero kept accelerating, alternating between reverse and drive, hitting the patrol vehicles around him while the officer was trapped between the cars, according to charging documents.
The officer who was pinned between the door and vehicle suffered minor injuries, according to charging documents, and the officer on the passenger side was also hit and suffered minor injuries.
Related story:
WVC officer injured after man reverses car into patrol vehicle
Two people were arrested early Thursday morning after police say one of them reversed his vehicle into a police car, wedging an officer between the door and the car.The officer who knocked on the passenger side window took out his firearm and told Lucero to stop, get out of the car and get on the ground, according to charging documents.
Lucero eventually complied and exited the car with his hands raised. Officers are heard in the footage yelling three times for him to get on the ground and Lucero is heard responding, "I am," before running off. Officers followed, tackled and apprehended Lucero, according to court documents.
During the incident, the female passenger exited the vehicle with her hands raised and was compliant with officers' commands, according to court documents.
An officer searched the car and found drug paraphernalia, a key ring with anywhere from 100 to 150 shaved keys, a loaded .22 caliber gun, brass knuckles, a baton, a knife, a bag with several driver's licenses, Social Security cards and a paper listing names and birth dates.
Lucero was charged with two counts of assault against a peace officer, a second-degree felony; one count each of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, violation of a pretrial protective order, unlawful possession of another's identification documents and criminal mischief, all third-degree felonies; possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor; and several other misdemeanor charges.
Court documents indicate that Lucero has additional pending felony cases.
