Residents cited after physical altercation over data center discussion in Utah County meeting

SALT LAKE CITY — A tense meeting in Utah County over a change in data center plan policy ended in an altercation between protesters and law enforcement.

Video obtained by KSL shows a woman sitting in the meeting speaking with deputies who were asking her to leave. After some back-and-forth, four of the deputies can be seen in the video approaching her to remove her from the meeting and the subsequent incident is then caught on camera.

The signs shown in the protest implied the group was there in opposition to a just-passed ordinance, which created a process for approving or denying new data centers on unincorporated land.

KSL contacted the group behind the protest and spoke with the woman at the center of the video, who identified herself as Aspen Azalea. Azalea told to KSL she suffered a concussion during the incident.

According to a press release from the Utah County Sheriff's Office, Azalea struck the officer when he initially attempted to remove her from the meeting.

"The deputy was struck in the groin by the female, and two other persons did grab ahold of the female to prevent her from being removed," the release states. "The group of three were removed from the chambers and taken to the lobby where Utah County Sheriff's Office deputies began to separate the parties. In that process, the female, who struck the deputy, and the deputy went to the ground."

The sheriff's office said Azalea was booked on investigation of three offenses, including: disrupting a meeting, a class A misdemeanor; interference with an arresting officer and assault on an officer, both class B misdemeanors.

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