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MIDVALE — A Unified police officer was temporarily knocked unconscious Thursday while trying to place a man in handcuffs, according to police.
Ryan Jacob Nathanial Heilman, 25, of Vernal, was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of assault on a police officer, failing to stop for an officer, interfering with an arrest, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
About 9:30 a.m., Unified officer Isaac Pace spotted a BMW with a temporary license plate that was expired and attempted to pull the man over, said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray. Heilman appeared to be "evasive" before finally pulling into a random residential driveway near 7350 South and 445 West, she said.
He got out of his car "and walked toward officer Pace's marked patrol vehicle. Heilman kept excitedly asking officer Pace why he was being stopped," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
Pace had Heilman walk to the front of his patrol car because of how "excited" he was acting.
"Heilman continued to argue so officer Pace called over the radio for backup units and attempted to place handcuffs on Heilman. Heilman resisted and jumped back into officer Pace who was positioned behind him. This action knocked officer Pace to the ground where he struck his head and lost momentary consciousness," the report states.
Pace regained consciousness after being knocked out for a few seconds, Gray said. He woke up in time to see Heilman running off and was able to direct backup officers to that area, where Heilman was taken into custody.
Pace was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. Investigators found a small amount of heroin in Heilman's pocket and meth inside his vehicle.
When interviewed by police, Heilman "admitted he was argumentative about the stop but claimed officer Pace threw him on the hood of the patrol vehicle and grabbed him around the head at which time he claimed he slipped out of officer Pace's hold and officer Pace fell to the ground. He then fled on foot because he was scared," according to the report.
Heilman also had an outstanding warrant out of Vernal Justice Court for driving on a denied license in 2018, according to court records. His criminal history consists mainly of misdemeanor drug and intoxication-related crimes and traffic tickets, according to state court records.
