A Tooele man is in police custody after he threatened to harm himself and others while pursuing an ambulance transferring his wife from Mountain West Medical Center to a Salt Lake-area hospital this morning.
Robyn Harrison, 48, is in the Salt Lake County Jail after being arrested in Millcreek for terroristic threats and fleeing a police officer.
Harrison became upset when his wife was transferred from Mountain West Medical Center to St. Mark’s Hospital, according to the Unified Police Department. Officers were soon tipped off that Harrison was allegedly making suicidal and homicidal threats and was thought to be armed.
After the ambulance left for Salt Lake, the staff reported they were being followed by Harrison, who was speeding and driving erratically in a white Dodge pickup truck around 2:30 a.m., police said. Harrison pursued the ambulance down Interstate 80 and onto Salt Lake surface streets before police attempted an intercept in the area of 3900 S. 700 East in Millcreek.
According to UPD, officers used a pursuit intervention technique, or PIT, maneuver to stop Harrison. The PIT maneuver involves an officer pulling their vehicle along the rear of the suspect’s vehicle and intentionally colliding with it to cause the suspect to spin out.
The severity of the threats issued by Harrison warranted the high-risk stop attempt, UPD Chief Deputy Justin Hoyal said.
After the first attempt, Harrison refused officer commands to exit his vehicle before pulling a U-turn and continuing his pursuit of the ambulance, which was continuing to the hospital, according to police. A second PIT maneuver attempt caused Harrison to lose control of the pickup truck and collide with a nearby UPD squad car.
When Harrison again refused to follow directions to get out of his pickup truck, officers broke the window of the vehicle and pulled him out of the truck.
Following the accident, Harrison was transported to a Salt Lake-area hospital and treated for minor injuries. He was then transported to the Salt Lake County Jail and booked.
The officer in the car Harrison hit was also treated at an area hospital for minor injuries and released.