SALT LAKE CITY – An off-duty police officer was attacked Friday morning in Salt Lake City, and the assailant went after the officer’s weapon.
The incident occurred at a 7-Eleven on 800 South and 900 West, and an attacker rushed at an officer after a conversation the two men had while waiting in line.
Police said the suspect asked the officer, who was in plain clothes and not in uniform, repeatedly if he knew the man. A witness says the suspect also asked about someone else, saying a woman’s name several times.
“The officer insisted he didn’t know him, out of nowhere he just rushed our officer,” Det. Veronica Montoya of Salt Lake City PD said. “He identified himself as an off-duty police officer, and they both went for his firearm… it shows in the [store’s surveillance] video both hands are on the gun, and the man who had rushed him was not letting go.”
The suspect was unable to get the weapon out of the holster.
A police precinct is located just down the road from the convenience store, so officers were able to respond before the situation escalated.
The suspect, a 37-year-old man, was taken into custody and faces charges of aggravated assault and attempting to disarm an officer. Montoya said they are still investigating what led to the attack.
