SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City man is under arrest after pulling a knife on police officers and claiming he had an explosive device in his truck.
Arthur Lloyd Palmer, 51, was stopped by police on Saturday just before 5 p.m. on the 800 block of State Street when they noticed he had an expired registration sticker, and then noticed the truck's color did not match the registration.
During the traffic stop, police identified Palmer as a sex offender who had been charged with a felony in Arizona, and had been in Utah for years to avoid registering as an offender.
When asked to get out of his truck, he pulled a knife on the officer, but was subdued and removed from the pickup.
After his arrest, Palmer claimed to have explosives in the pickup, and officers searching the truck found jars full of potentially flammable liquids, prompting them to close traffic on the 800 block of State Street in both directions as a precautionary measure.
A hazardous device unit and hazardous materials unit were brought in to assist with the investigation, and State Street was closed in both directions between 800 South and 900 South out of "an abundance of caution."
Two businesses were evacuated: Taco Time and Epic Brewing. State Street reopened just before 9 p.m. later that day.
Palmer was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on several counts, including possession of an incendiary device, aggravated assault, interfering with an arresting officer, and failure to register as a sex offender.
