WOODS CROSS, Utah — A now-fired police officer has been charged with aggravated assault for shooting at suspects who were fleeing in a vehicle earlier this year.
Joshua John Lindsey, 39, was charged Tuesday with two third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault.
On Feb. 7, Lindsey spotted a "suspicious vehicle" at the Manheim Auto Auction in Woods Cross and approached it, according to the initial report of the incident.
Charging documents state that as the driver attempted to "maneuver away from him," Lindsey fired four shots while charging at the vehicle.
"Fortunately for all concerned, the defendant’s shots hit the vehicle and missed the victims inside," the probable cause statement read.
At the time of the incident, police said Lindsey shot at the suspects because he feared for his life.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Lindsey was fired by the police department in July. In the "officer-involved critical incident" investigation, Lindsey claimed the vehicle was accelerating toward him. However, surveillance footage showed the vehicle going in reverse, away from the officer, with him running after it.
Lindsey reportedly told investigators he was trying to pop the tires and disable the vehicle, but the Woods Cross Police Department’s policy prohibits firing at a vehicle unless it poses an “imminent threat” to an officer or members of the public.
The two suspects in the vehicle were initially arrested on suspicion of several offenses, including attempted murder of a police officer. However, court records indicate that Julian Sage Nordahl was only charged with theft, and Tucker Douglas Riggs was not charged.
