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KEARNS — A woman was taken into custody Monday after police say she attempted to bait officers into shooting her by holding a shoe like a gun, and also rammed a police car twice with her own vehicle.
The situation could have easily turned into an officer-involved shooting, Unified police officials say, and they are commending the officers involved for keeping their cool.
Officers were called to perform a welfare check on Krystal Mary Bujan, 31, after she threatened to shoot another person, said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler. Police then received a second report that Bujan had hit the window of a car with handgun.
At least two witnesses told emergency dispatchers they believed Bujan was armed, Cutler said, and officers who responded to the area were informed that Bujan was threatening to commit "suicide by cop."
Bujan was spotted walking in the area of 6000 South and 4100 West. But when officers found her, she was no longer holding a gun but rather a shoe.
"Krystal was holding the shoe like a firearm with both arms extended forward and her hands were holding the shoe as if she were holding a handgun. Krystal repeatedly placed her hands with the shoe behind her back, then would quickly move it up to the handgun position," according to a police affidavit.
Cutler said when the first officer made contact with Bujan, she "turned and pointed" the object in her hands at him, causing the officer to take cover. The officer had his gun drawn as Bujan walked toward him while again raising the object in her hands at him, she said.
"That's when he realized it was a shoe. He gave information over the radio to other officers it was a shoe," Cutler said.
After ignoring several commands to stop and surrender, Bujan got into her car and drove off at a high rate of speed, running over a fence before attempting to hit an officer's patrol car, the affidavit states.
"The officer was able to get into the patrol vehicle, place the vehicle in drive ... and avoid getting hit by Krystal," according to the affidavit.
Bujan continued driving erratically and at one point, "opened the driver door and attempted to exit the vehicle. Krystal got stuck in the driver door and fell back into the driver seat. The driver door closed. Krystal turned the driver wheel to the right, hitting the curb, then Krystal abruptly turned the wheel to the left and rammed my police vehicle," an officer wrote in the affidavit.
She then hit the police vehicle a second time, causing the air bags in Bujan's car to deploy and her car coming to a stop near 5985 S. 4140 West.
"Krystal attempted to exit the driver door, but I utilized my police vehicle to pin the driver door closed," according to the affidavit. "Krystal was screaming that she wanted to die and wanted suicide by cop. Krystal was fighting and flailing her legs and arms around and ignoring all police verbal commands."
Bujan was arrested for investigation of three counts of attempted aggravated assault and failing to respond to an officer's signal to stop.
A gun was recovered at the scene where she allegedly hit a driver's window.
Cutler said the situation could have very easily turned into a police shooting, and the officer who recognized she was holding a shoe should be commended.
"The officer did an excellent job of obtaining cover and keeping his cool while being diligent to observe what the exact object was she had in her hand," she said.
