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SPRINGVILLE — A Spanish Fork man was arrested after police say he attacked a police officer, prompting a brief lockdown of nearby businesses and an elementary school while other officers searched for him Friday afternoon.
Springville police said Paul Douglas Anderson, 40, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, theft, burglary and failing to stop at an officer's command. He was booked into Utah County Jail.
Meanwhile, the officer was being treated for an orbital eye socket fracture and facial lacerations at a hospital Friday evening.
The incident began when an officer responded to a report of a man acting suspiciously near 700 S. Main St. shortly before 2 p.m., according to Springville Police Chief Scott Finlayson in a statement.
The officer spotted the man, identified as Anderson, in a Tabitha's Way Local Food Pantry donation box with his feet dangling out. When the officer approached Anderson, the man got out of the donation box and put his hands in his pockets, Finlayson said.
When the officer told him to get his hands out of pockets, he refused to comply before attacking the officer, punching him in the face "repeatedly," according to Finlayson.
As Anderson was attacking the officer, a good Samaritan driving by stopped and intervened by pulling out a gun and ordering Anderson to stop, Finlayson said. Anderson then fled on foot.
Everything slowed down for Derek Meyer, the bystander that intervened, when he saw Anderson attacking the officer. He decided as a concealed weapon carrier that he had a duty to step in, he said.
"Luckily, it worked out where I didn't have to fire or discharge my weapon," Meyer said. "The suspect saw me and my weapon and decided very, very quickly he needed to go and run."
Anderson was taken into custody about 30 minutes later after officers set up a perimeter in the area. Finlayson said a witness saw the man hiding under a flatbed trailer across the street where the attack occurred.
He was taken into custody without further incident.
Cherry Creek Elementary was placed on a precautionary lockdown during the search for the man, according to Finlayson. Residents and businesses owners were also told to lock their doors until the individual was apprehended.
Multiple agencies also assisted police in searching for the man.
Court records show Anderson has a lengthy criminal history in the state of Utah.
