COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah — Just over a week before taking his children on a treacherous hike — from which one child is still hospitalized — a Utah father was involved in a lengthy and sometimes tense traffic stop.
On Oct. 11, Micah Smith took his three young children on a hike on the Broads Fork Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon, right as a storm was coming in. They didn't make it down on their own and were rescued the next day.
Smith was later charged with child abuse.
FOX 13 News has obtained body-worn camera footage of a traffic stop just days prior. Smith was parked on the side of a busy road in Cottonwood Heights on Oct. 4 when an officer pulled up behind him. In the bodycam footage, he tells Smith that he initially wanted to check on him to see if he needed help — but then he noticed that Smith's truck had no license plate.
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Smith's children were not in the truck with him at the time of the traffic stop.
While talking with police, Smith admitted that he didn't have registration or insurance. The officer informed him that this meant they would need to impound his vehicle.
Smith argued that he wasn't driving when the officer arrived, but the officer refuted this, saying he must have driven to get there. The officer also pointed out that the truck's tires were bald, and there were no wheel flares.
"You can't have this thing on the road," he said in summary.
Throughout the interaction, Smith told the officer that he was going through some personal struggles — specifically, that his marriage of 13 years was ending.
Smith informed the officer early on that he had guns in the truck. The officer later told him he didn't feel comfortable letting him keep his guns due to his perceived mental state, although when asked point-blank if he planned on harming himself, he said no. The officers were worried because he said he wanted to hike Lone Peak that day, which happened to be another stormy day.
Once Smith's friend arrived to pick him up as the truck was towed, the officers gave Smith's guns to the friend.
The full bodycam footage from all three officers can be viewed below: (Warning: May contain offensive language)
