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SANDY -- Sandy police identified a man who tried to run over an officer then shot himself.
Tuesday night police say an officer tried to pull over 41-year-old Richard Jones of Sandy around 900 East and 7800 South, but Jones sped off.
Near 8000 South and 1300 East, Jones made a U-turn. The officer got out of his vehicle and motioned for Jones to stop. Instead, police say Jones sped toward the officer, and tried to run him over. The officer opened fire on Jones' truck.
Jones got past the officer but was stopped by another car, which pulled in front of him.
"The second vehicle, a jeep, pulled up, was driven by his wife. She exits her vehicle and is speaking to him on the passenger side door," said Sandy police Sgt. Justin Chapman.
Officers were able to get Jones' wife away from him and out of harm's way before Jones shot himself with his shotgun. He died on scene.
"Are we pleased nobody else was hurt? Absolutely. We're glad that our officer wasn't hurt. We're glad that the woman who came to the door of the car wasn't hurt. We're very happy about that. It's unfortunate that the man decided to take his life," Chapman said.
Police say they tried to pull over Jones for a registration problem when he took off. They also tell us Jones had a history of domestic cases over the past three years in Sandy.
