Officer dies after being struck by vehicle during confrontation in South Salt Lake, police say

SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah — A South Salt Lake police officer died Saturday evening after he was struck by a vehicle during a confrontation with two alleged burglars, one of whom was shot and killed by police, officials said.

Officer David Romrell, 31, died from injuries suffered in the incident shortly before 10 p.m., South Salt Lake Police Chief Jack Carruth said in a press conference held at the South Salt Lake Police Department about 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

Officers responded to a report of a burglary in progress at a business near 3575 S. West Temple Saturday evening. When officers tried to stop two men who were attempting to leave the scene in a vehicle, the driver of the vehicle accelerated toward the officers and struck Romrell, Carruth said.

Romrell was transported to Intermountain Medical Center in critical condition and taken into emergency surgery “but was unable to recover from his injuries,” Carruth said, as his voice broke.

Romrell leaves behind a wife and 4-month-old baby.

“Our focus last night and early this morning has been on David Romrell’s family and our South Salt Lake family who are grieving,” Carruth said.

This is the first line-of-duty death for the South Salt Lake Police Department.

“As much as we prepare or know the risk of this job, we’re not prepared for this,” Carruth said. “It’s taken us all by surprise. It’s been very, very painful.”

Romrell, who Carruth described as a humble and “tactically sound officer,” had been with the department for less than 11 months. He was a Marine veteran who served several tours, Carruth said.

Carruth also took a moment to thank all of the officers and fire personnel who responded, as well as the staff at the hospital who tried to save Romrell.

In a procession early Sunday morning, Romrell’s body was escorted by “hundreds of officers” from Intermountain Medical Center to the medical examiner’s office in Taylorsville where “he’ll be watched over by officers until his funeral,” Carruth said.

My prayers are with South Salt Lake PD, Officer Romrell's wife and young child. Our hearts are with you today and always.

— Commissioner Jess Anderson (@andersonljess) November 25, 2018

Multiple Utah police agencies and public figures honored Romrell in social media posts Sunday morning.

“My prayers are with South Salt Lake PD, Officer Romrell’s wife and young child,” Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jess Anderson said in a tweet. “Our hearts are with you today and always.”

Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox also weighed in, saying the news of Romrell’s death was terrible.

“Our hearts are broken this morning,” Cox said in a tweet. “God bless this officer and his loved ones. And God bless all the men and women in Blue that put their lives in harms way to keep us safe.”

Gov. Gary Herbert said he will order the lowering of the U.S. and Utah flags on the day of Romrell’s funeral. He said Romrell was “one of our finest.”

“He was exemplary in every way, and I feel humbled by the service he gave his country as a Marine, as well as the service he gave our communities here in Utah,” Herbert said in an emailed statement Sunday. “We mourn with and for Officer Romrell’s dear family, and we pray that they may find peace in the midst of this heartbreak.”

During Saturday’s confrontation, at least one officer fired their weapon at the vehicle as it accelerated toward them, and bullets struck both the vehicle and the driver, Carruth said.

The driver of the vehicle was later pronounced dead. He was identified as 32-year-old Felix Anthony Calata, of West Valley City, Unified police officials said Sunday on Twitter.

The second man in the vehicle fled the scene on foot, but K-9 officers helped in finding him hiding a short distance away. He was taken into custody. His name has not been released.

Police haven’t yet released information about which officer fired shots, or whether both discharged their weapons.

Because officer weapons were fired, the officer-involved critical incident protocol has been activated and an outside agency is investigating the shooting, Carruth said.

This article was first published by KSL.com. It is used here with permission.