Police have interviewed and released three teenagers who are believed to have been in a car that struck a Granite School District officer and then “scattered” after the officer shot the teenage driver through the windshield.
Officers are looking for one more passenger, an adult man, Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley said Wednesday.
The Granite police officer, who is in his first year in law enforcement, had been patrolling a neighborhood near Hunter High School looking for truant students Tuesday afternoon.
He saw a car full of people near Hunter Ridge Park, at 4383 S. 5710 West, and thought he smelled marijuana.
As the officer approached, the car “lurched” forward and he was thrown onto the hood. The officer then fired his gun and hit the driver, who remains in critical condition.
The car then traveled another 100 yards and crashed on the sidewalk. The four passengers fled, Horsley said.
The officer was treated and released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon for minor injuries. He is on leave pending the results of the investigation.
None of the people in the car attend Hunter High School, Horsley confirmed Wednesday.
The teenage driver isn’t enrolled in school, nor is one of the other teenagers.
One of the teenagers is enrolled in sStep, a district program for students who have been removed from traditional school for safety reasons or for policy violations. Another of the teenagers is a student, but Horsley declined to say where.
The fifth person is believed to be the adult police are still looking for. They know who he is, but haven’t spoken to him yet.
Police haven’t released the identities of any of those involved, the people in the car or the officer.
None of the passengers are in custody, Horsley said, and the investigation is ongoing.
The Salt Lake City Police Department is leading the investigation, Horsley said. Unified and West Valley City police are assisting.
