SOUTH SALT LAKE -- A man who brandished a handgun at police was shot in the hand and leg Sunday morning.
Sgt. Gary Keller of the South Salt Lake Police Department said the incident began with a traffic stop near 1300 South and I-15 at about 2 a.m.
Keller said a trooper saw a male and female arguing in the car once the vehicle was pulled over. The 32-year-old female got out of the car, which Keller said authorities would not have someone do on the freeway, and while the trooper was interacting with the female the male drove away.
Keller said there was no pursuit, but police put out an attempt to locate for the man, 35-year-old Kody Scott Sturgeon. The vehicle was spotted in the area of 2400 South and Main Street, and officers responded to that area. The vehicle was found abandoned, and officers set up a perimeter.
Keller said Sturgeon hid for some time before he was located about a block away from the vehicle, which is when things escalated.
“He was seen,” Keller said. “He was challenged. The suspect pointed a handgun at the trooper. The trooper fired multiple times. The suspect was hit twice. Once in the hand and once in the leg.”
The shooting took place near Main Street Storage. Police said Sturgeon had taken another person hostage at the storage unit, but that person escaped unharmed.
Sturgeon is in an area hospital in stable condition, and his wounds are not life-threatening. Sturgeon could face multiple felony charges.
Sturgeon has been arrested several times in various Utah counties and at least six times in Salt Lake County, where he has convictions for drug possession, robbery and theft.
The Utah Highway Patrol trooper who fired was not injured.
The South Salt Lake Police Department is investigating the incident because of where it occurred, and there are parallel investigations with the Utah Highway Patrol and the District Attorney’s Office regarding the officer-involved shooting.
Keller said the investigation is still in its early stages. FOX 13 News will have more information as it becomes available.
