SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man suspected of taking an officer’s handgun during the downtown riot.
On May 30, a large group of protesters and rioters blocked a Salt Lake police patrol car at 210 E. 400 South and prevented it from moving any farther. The officer inside the vehicle became trapped and other officers had to pull her out of the vehicle and rescue her from the crowd.
Once the officer’s car was unoccupied, several people looted it and damaged the vehicle, eventually overturning it and burning it.
As of Tuesday, 12 people have been charged in state court with vandalizing the police car.
On Wednesday, police released a surveillance photo of a man shown holding a bag that belonged to the officer and was left inside the patrol car after she was rescued. The bag contained the officer’s personal handgun and her police employee identification card, according to police.
The ID card was found a couple of days later near the state Capitol. The gun has not been recovered,
Anyone with information about the gun or the man suspected of taking it is asked to call police at 801-799-3000.