ROY, Utah — It seemed like a normal call for Roy police officers to respond to: a pair of burglary suspects potentially looking into cars inside a gym parking lot.
“We are told that there was one-to-two females in a black SUV in the parking lot who had been looking into vehicles,” Ofc. Aaron Nelson said.
The officers looked through the large parking lot, checking many black SUVs until they found one on the far west side with two women inside.
Nelson and his partner approached the car and said they both could smell the strong smell of marijuana. They asked both suspects to roll down the windows down, which one did slightly, but both didn’t complying right away.
“We were trying to figure out exactly what was going on," said Nelson. "Was this a vehicle burglary? Was it someone who had locked the keys in the car?"
Shortly afterwards, Nelson's body camera shows the passenger opening her door and preparing to step outside. That's when the driver hits the gas Nelson caught in the middle.
“The passenger door hit my right side and just folded me against the other car,” Nelson said, adding that the mirror of the vehicle behind him hit “just in the small my back, just compacted the mirror shattering it behind me.”
Video below shows surveillance footage of the incident
In the video, the officers are heard giving clear commands to stop before the SUV speeds off and the two regroup.
Nelson was checked out and sent to the hospital overnight, but is thankfully okay.
Speaking exclusively with FOX 13 News, Nelson said
“I'm sore, might have some longer-term issues, might have to like a knee surgery on my knee things like that,” Nelson said in an exclusive interview with FOX 13 News. “The physical effects go away, just the mental aspect of this, of what could have happened and things that tend to linger with us a lot longer than the physical ailments do.”
The two suspects are still on the loose. The Roy police department said the black Audi has been seen at other vehicle burglaries in the area.
Nelson said the passenger in the car didn't seem like a willing participant to the aggravated assault on a police officer, and hopes she comes forward to find out what was going on.
While Nelson is still recovering and is shaken up a bit by the incident, he said that so many people have offered support, which is helping him get through the event.
“Coworkers at Roy City, members of the community, people from other agencies; There's definitely been a major outpouring of support. It's definitely helped me through this.”
Anyone who recognizes either of the suspects or has any information is asked to call Weber Dispatch at 801-395-8221.
