SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah — Four teenage boys are facing charges after they allegedly assaulted an adult man in a Sandy park.
The teens, although not identified, were booked into police custody on aggravated assault charges.
Disturbing video sent to FOX 13 News by a Canyons School District parent shows the teens kicking and punching the man in the head. In the video, students are heard encouraging the violence. The teens continue to stomp on his head as he laid the ground, unconscious.
“It’s sad because that was being recorded for entertainment. There’s people laughing and there’s people in the video egging on the attack,” said Sandy Police Sgt. Greg Moffitt. “On the flip side of that coin, because that all got recorded, our officers were able to identify the four main players, or suspects, in that case.”
Moffitt said officers were sent to Dewey Bluth park, located at 170 East Sego Lily Drive, Monday at about noon on a report that someone had been assaulted
The victim was in his 50s and was found laying on the ground when officers arrived in the area.
He was taken to the hospital in stable condition but suffered a head injury and trauma. As of Tuesday evening, police said the victim was still in the hospital.
“We’ve heard stories that he was out jogging, we heard stories that he was riding his bike through. That’s what we’re still trying to figure out,” Moffitt said. “We’re trying to figure out why he approached these kids.”
Moffitt said two 15-year-olds, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old are facing aggravated assault charges. They are students at a Canyons School District high school.
“When we’re looking at juveniles, one of the things we’re going to look at is the history of that juvenile. That carries some weight in how it’s going to carry out in the judicial system,” he said.
The teenagers are booked in the juvenile detention center.
People at the park have a hard time knowing this violence took place.
“I come here probably four, five days a week. Multiple times a day,” said Jaryd Neiman. “Never seen anything where [teenagers] are harassing other people.”
Sandy Police say a lot of the calls they receive involve the teenagers at Dewey Bluth Park.
“We get quite a bit during the school year because they tend to wander over in their lunch period,” he said. “It’s probably one of the parks we get dispatched to more frequently than others.”
