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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man who police say rammed a police car and then refused to get out of his own vehicle as he finished drinking a beer has been charged.
Christopher S. Ritter, who is also known by "Critter," 30, of Salt Lake City, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with assault against a police officer, a second-degree felony; failing to respond to an officer's signal to stop, a third-degree felony; DUI, a third-degree felony; driving without an interlock system in the car, a class B misdemeanor; reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor; and four other misdemeanor crimes.
On Saturday, Ritter was spotted by West Valley police going 50 mph in a residential neighborhood, the charges state. Ritter refused to pull over and "ran several stop signs," according to charging documents. He then "intentionally" drove his vehicle head-on into a West Valley patrol car stopped at 6620 W. 3926 South, according to the charges.
When police ordered Ritter out of his car, he "grabbed onto the steering wheel and began to chug a beer from an open beer can," according to court documents.
Officers forcefully removed Ritter from the car and tazed him when he resisted arrest, the charges state.
In addition to smelling strongly of alcohol, Ritter "had trouble remembering conversations that had just occurred, and had trouble maintaining his balance while standing and walking," according to court documents. Ritter has already been convicted of DUI twice in the past 10 years, the charges state.
