CRIME, POLICE + COURTS
Officer faces kidnapping charge involving a family member
Nov 28, 2020, 12:40 PM | Updated: Dec 29, 2022, 12:58 pm
SOUTH JORDAN — A South Jordan police officer is under arrest and could face charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and criminal trespassing after a reported kidnapping on Thanksgiving.
Court documents indicate that officer Scott Russell ordered a person out of a car and onto the ground in a field off of I-15 near exit 202 in Juab County following a Thanksgiving Day drive.
The victim says Russell, the victim’s nephew, began acting irrational and paranoid and ordered the victim to lay face down and remove his shoes as well as any belongings.
Court documents indicate that Russell then discarded a wallet and personal belongings including a firearm, ammunition, and magazine, by tossing them over a nearby fence.
The victim told investigators that Officer Russell eventually walked away, so the family member was able to flag down a motorist who took the family member to the hospital.
South Jordan police are not commenting other than to say that the officer, Scott Russell, has been placed on administrative leave.