A Salt Lake Organizing Committee official arrested and cited for assault after an alleged road-rage incident with a pedestrian said Thursday he "made a mistake" that frightened him.
Doug Arnot, managing director of operations for the 2002 Winter Games, will be ordered by SLOC into counseling for anger management. "We disapprove of his actions," said Fraser Bullock, the organizing committee's chief operating officer.Arnot was tracked to the SLOC offices on Main Street by police after the man he is accused of assaulting, Rich Van Orden, 32, of West Jordan, gave police his license plate number. The incident was reported about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
According to a Salt Lake police report, Arnot was in a SLOC vehicle attempting a left turn off West Temple onto 300 South while Van Orden was walking north up West Temple in the crosswalk.
After Arnot's Suburban nearly hit Van Orden, the two had a brief altercation in the crosswalk, Salt Lake Police Sgt. Craig Gleason said. Police reports indicate that Arnot then punched Van Orden in the face multiple times and drove off, still holding Van Orden by his tie. Arnot let go of Van Orden in the intersection and sped off.
Arnot, 49, was cited for simple assault, a class B misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and $1,000 in fines. City prosecutors were expected to screen the case for prosecution Thursday. He was not booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
"I made a mistake," Arnot told the Deseret News. I responded very inappropriately."
Arnot said he left the scene of the incident because he feared it would escalate. "Frankly, I was extraordinarily upset by all this, a little bit shocked by all of this," he said. "This incident frightened me, and if some kind of counseling . . . might help, I'd be happy to do it."
Van Orden was taken by ambulance to the LDS Hospital emergency room, where he received four to six stitches in his forehead and was treated for a fat lip and bruised rotator cuff.
City prosecutors can either file formal charges or pass the case on to the Salt Lake County district attorney if they determine a more serious offense may have occurred. If formal charges are filed, an arraignment would likely be scheduled for early next week, city prosecutors said.